An agreement has been reached and initialled. I am very pleased, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, told the press.

Delegations of Serbia and Kosovo, led by their respective prime ministers, met in Brussels on Friday for a new round of talks on the degree of autonomy for the Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci had said before the meeting he expected that an agreement would be reached.

According to diplomatic sources, Ashton put forward a 15-point agreement taking into account the views of both parties.