It was supposed to be the biggest gathering of Balkan leaders in nearly two decades to show the world the Balkan states aren't, well, Balkanized. But the EU-Balkan summit in Slovenia didn't live up to the billing to highlight regional cooperation and ended with a whimper. The air was taken out of the meeting in Brdo pri Kranju when Serb President Boris Tadic refused to show up. He didn't like the fact Kosovo would be there not as a UN-run protectorate but rather as an independent state. The EU's new so-called president also skipped the meeting, sensing a fiasco was awaiting. Not all were disappointed. Kosovo was pleased to have their independence status at least winked at.
