"The problem of unity should be taken very seriously," said Mr Rupel, who met the top UN official in Kosovo, Joachim Ruecker.

The future status of Kosovo is shaping up to be one of the biggest political tests facing the EU in recent years, with the breakaway Serbian province indicating it will unilaterally declare independence once a December 10 deadline for international talks on the issue goes by without a negotiated agreement - as is likely.

The EU's difficulty on the issue is highlighted by its own internal divisions on how to deal with ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo, a UN protectorate since 1999.

Some countries are in favour of an independent Kosovo but others fear that it would set a precedent for independence-minded regions within the EU itself.

Greece and Cyprus are said to be particularly worried about the implications such a move could have for Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus.

There is also reluctance among certain member states to support a new state if the UN security council has not done so. But agreement in the UN is proving tough as Russia - a veto-wielding member of the security council - is sympathetic to Serbia which is against full independence for Kosovo.

Serbia has in the past said the region's stability would be threatened if it loses complete control over Kosovo.

With the clock ticking on the December deadline, the whole political hornet's nest will land in small Slovenia's lap come January, when it takes over the EU presidency.

Already Slovene officials are working hard behind the scenes to prepare the ground, with it still unclear "at what stage" it will inherit the issue.

But Ljubljana is working on an overall inclusive approach to all of the Western Balkans, even hoping to put the issue as a main topic on the June meeting of EU leaders.

According to one diplomat, Slovenia is hoping that "all the countries in the region will have signed [Stabilisation and Association Agreements]" by mid next year, the end of the Slovene presidency.

Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina remain the only countries in the region not to have taken this very preliminary step towards EU membership.

"We would like to see a faster line for countries in the region towards the EU," said the diplomat.

Slovenia is looking at what other political titbits could be offered to the countries in the region to make them more involved in the wide European community, including seeing if they could take part in the European Research Area or whether they could be involved in the Trans-European Network project, a major infrastructure scheme.