While the media in Slovenia, the country presiding over the European Union until July, say that the interim political agreement Brussels has recently offered Belgrade "is still on the table", a source in Brussels say that "it is not too useful, and has no bright future".

The deal was offered to Serbia instead of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) on Jan. 28, in between the two rounds of the presidential elections the country. It caused a rift in the ruling coalition that almost collapsed the government one day after President Boris Tadić was reelected.

Late this week, Slovenia's Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said in a conference in Ljubljana that the EU is "contributing to the region's stability" by sending its mission to Kosovo.

He repeated his country's declared dedication to bringing the Western Balkans closer to the European Union.

As for Serbia, Rupel says Brussels is "ready to speed up its association".

But a French official with the EU headquarters, speaking on condition of anonymity, told journalists in Brussels that the Union "has nothing new to offer to Serbia in the short term", but that it will "show understanding" if the majority of Serbs see the EU involvement in the Kosovo status and the process of the provinces unilateral independence as amputation of its sovereign territory.

As for the interim political agreement, it does not have a bright future, the diplomat said, but explained that it had its use.

"Still, we believe that the offer to sign a political agreement was not in vain, since it made possible for Boris Tadić's victory in the elections, which was its main goal," the high-ranking French diplomat was quoted by the news agencies.