'Kosovo,' the Prime Minister tells us, 'is on the doorstep of Europe.' The province, we learn, is situated near countries like Greece and Italy with which British people are very familiar from their holidays. This is why we cannot stand idly by and watch the Serbs perpetrating atrocities on Albanian civilians. Why exactly, though? Because it might interfere with our package holiday arrangements? Or because it is on the doorstep of Europe? What is the doorstep of Europe and why is Kosovo outside the house?

It can hardly be barred for geographical reasons. Greece lies further south; Poland and Finland further east; the Adriatic is a stone's throw away. Perhaps, Tony Blair calls it a 'doorstep' because Albanians are predominantly Muslim. The Government repeatedly refers to Serb atrocities which, George Robertson teaches us, Europe has not seen the like of 'since the Middle Ages'. Isuppose if you overlook the period 1914-45, he does have a point. Maybe it is this barbarism that excludes Kosovo from Europe?

LRB 29 April 1999 | PDF Download