Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said on February 18 2008 he would recommend the Cabinet "established relations" with Kosovo authorities, speaking to reporters in Brussels, where Kalfin attended a scheduled meeting of European Union (EU) foreign ministers.

He did not give a timeline for when Bulgaria would do so, de facto recognising the province's independence, saying it was contingent on the efforts Kosovo would make to implement democracy and uphold the right of ethnic minorities, according to a statement released by the ministry's press service.

The EU ministers could not reach a common decision on whether to recognise Kosovo's independence, declared during an extraordinary session of the province's parliament a day earlier, but agreed on a declaration that every member state would decide on its own position on the issue.

Additionally, the declaration featured a provision that the Kosovo case would be treated by the bloc as an exceptional case and would not serve as precedent in international law.

Kalfin re-iterated his regret that Serbia and Kosovo could not reach agreement on the issue, that being the outcome Sofia would have preferred, and called on authorities from all countries in southeastern Europe to prevent any actions that would create additional tension in the region.

He added that Bulgaria would continue to lend its support to EU and NATO efforts to maintain stability in Kosovo and "actively work with its allies" in the Western Balkans.