President Boris Tadic and European Union High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Catherine Ashton will in Brussels on Sept. 7 to look at the extent to which efforts to harmonize Serbia and the EU's stances have been successful before Kosovo is debated in the United Nations, EU officials have told BETA.

EU officials confirmed that contact between the EU members which have differing stances on Kosovo's independence and their consultations with Serbia had been established.

These sources say that Serbia does not wish to see its draft resolution fail in the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 9, and that the EU wants to ensure that as much of its influence as possible goes into the content of the topic for the discussion Belgrade wants in the U.N.

EU circles have interpreted President Boris Tadic's latest statements as showing that Belgrade is willing to negotiate with Pristina on different issues alongside mediation and "through" the EU and, most likely, U.N. representatives.

EU officials announced that for the European 27, the harmonized stance of EU members, which is also the stance of those members who have not recognized Pristina's independence, is that dialogue which would "help" the Union between Belgrade and Pristina was necessary, and remains the basis for an agreement on amendments to the resolution on Kosovo for the debate in the U.N. General Assembly.

Diplomatic sources in Brussels said that it was important that the stances were harmonized and that the writing of a new resolution was not necessary.