The European Union must be ready to guide Kosovo on its inevitable path to independence after the UN Security Council failed to agree on the Serb province's future, the incoming EU presidency said.

"The EU and Kosovo have to agree what to do next in a reasonable manner and without any blackmail. It's clear that certain processes cannot be held back," Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country takes over the rotating EU presidency from January 1, told a news conference.