Italy's foreign minister in Kosovo for a visit 

Fini cautioned against any hasty moves toward independence for the province. "What is needed now is stability in the region,'' he said. "There are no existing conditions now to talk about independence for Kosovo.''

 PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Italy's Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini is due in the U.N.-run province of Kosovo Thursday for meetings with local officials on the second day of his Balkans tour.

Fini arrives from Belgrade, where he said on Wednesday that disputed Kosovo could never go back to the way it was in the former Yugoslavia but also warned the time was not right for talks on its independence. 

"Times have changed and it is impossible to view Kosovo in the framework of what was once a province in the old Yugoslavia,'' Fini said, as he kicked off a tour of the Balkans with meetings in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia-Montenegro.

Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations and NATO-led peacekeepers since 1999, after alliance's bombing pushed Serb troops out. Italy has a 2,400 strong military and paramilitary contingent in Kosovo as part of the peacekeeping force.
The province remains only officially part of Serbia-Montenegro, with its final status yet to be resolved. 

Talks aimed at tackling that issue are expected to begin later this year. Ethnic Albanians, who form a majority in the province, want it to become independent. Belgrade has flatly rejected that option.

But Fini also cautioned against any hasty moves toward independence for the province. 

"What is needed now is stability in the region,'' he said. "There are no existing conditions now to talk about independence for Kosovo.''

Fini stressed that progress on key issues _ such as respect of minority rights, freedom of movement and freedom of religious, cultural and ethnic expression, as well as return of refugees _ would be closely evaluated in Kosovo in 2005.

Fini was also to visit Macedonia and Bosnia during his tour.

Progress remains insufficient in Kosovo, says UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- While noteworthy concrete steps have been taken in some areas in Kosovo, progress in many areas remained insufficient, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report to the Security Council on Wednesday." None of the eight standards has been completely fulfilled," Annan said of the goals in areas such as democratic institutions, minority rights and an impartial legal system.

"It cannot be overemphasized that forward momentum depends on the Provisional Institutions, political leaders and people from all communities actually delivering real progress on the standards," he said.

He stressed the need for results in all areas that benefit all people in Kosovo where Albanians outnumber other communities, mainly Serbs, by about 9 to 1.

Annan also noted that although security for minorities has improved since last March, freedom of movement remained precarious. Kosovo Serbs in particular continued to consider themselves at risk and "their reluctance to leave their communities, or to interact with members of the majority community (and vice versa),is widening an already deep ethnic divide," he said." The majority community needs to create a climate in which members of minority communities, and in particular the Kosovo Serbs, feel confident they can return and remain in Kosovo," he concluded.

"Moreover, the Serbian authorities must encourage this processsince it is in the direct interest of Serbs in Kosovo," he said.

US And EU Came Out With Plan For Union Of Independent Countries Serbia, Montenegro And Kosovo


Belgrade, 23 Feb (Makfax) – Some internationals support the idea for establishing of the union of independent countries Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo, reported on Wednesday Montenegrin daily newspaper “Dan”.

By this recipe it is predicted that in the union no one will take the ruling positions and all important questions for all of the three countries should be solved together.

“Dan” informs that this plan come out from some US circles, and it was checked by the EU with the purpose to remove this question from the agenda and to help to Western Balkans to start building its future.

Milan Pajevic, foreign affairs adviser of the Serbian vice-president Miroljub Labus stated for “Dan” that “one of the possible options for solving of the crisis is the union of Serbia and Montenegro, and Kosovo would be included in it”.

He also added that the plan for the union of the three states is not proposed officially, but he expects resistance from Albanian side because this would “sound like a united country to them”.

“US and EU officially did not propose establishing of the union of these three states, but this option is included in one of the possibilities”, underlined Pajevic.

By him, as “Dan” had transmitted this union would contain three independent internationally recognized states, that are united on basis of joined interests, as the case is with the EU member countries.

KOSOVO - A NEW FORMULA

BETAWEEK, Belgrade 

The European Union (EU) has confirmed earlier announcements that the international community would focus on Kosovo and its status this year. EU foreign ministers agreed this week that the position of Kosovo could not go back to where it was before the 1999 NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia, when the province was an integral part of Serbia's system of government. The status of the province will be determined in line with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244, which defines it as part of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. The ministers underlined that no partition of Kosovo or unification with Albania or any other Albanian-dominated territory would be possible. Judging by the conclusions from Brussels, this year the European Union will seek a formula that, to an extent, would accommodate a strong Kosovo Albanian ambition to have an independent Kosovo, but would fall short of actual independence. Most of the EU ministers noted that Kosovo was not yet ready foressential independence. The process of defining the Kosovo status is expected to begin in the middle of the year. Before the final-status talks, the European Union wants to launch a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as between the Albanianand Serb sides in Kosovo proper. The talks are among the standards to be met for the finalstatus negotiations to begin at all. EU High  Representative for the Common Foreign andSecurity Policy Javier Solana was explicit that no talks on the future status of the province would begin "if the standards were not implemented in the middle or the second half of the year." The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet this week to hear a report on Kosovo by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In the segment of his report available to the public, Annan said Kosovo had not made sufficient progress in the implementation of standards, which makes it impossible for the international community to decide on its final status. The U.N. secretarygeneral warned the Kosovo Serbs do not feel safe, pointing at isolated incidents that are still happening. "Many recently repaired houses remain vacant, because displaced persons are still concerned about their safety, doubtful that the majority community would accept them," said Annan in his report on the last three months in Kosovo.

Kostunica

The European Union's decisions on Kosovo have effectively narrowed Belgrade's room for maneuver. Belgrade keeps insisting the province is still an integral part of Serbia, warning that any other solution would violate the international law. Serbian Premier Vojislav Kostunica and his Democratic Party of Serbia are in a particularly awkward position. They insisted throughout last year that the Serbian government plan for Kosovo, which called for separate Serb-dominated areas within Kosovo, should be taken into account. In order to demonstrate its influence on Kosovo Serbs, the Serbian government called upon them to boycott the elections in Kosovo last October, which almost all of them accepted. The latest decisions made in Brussels make it clear that Kostunica and his party were wrong. Since no exit strategy has been prepared, the Serbian authorities will have to seek new solutions in haste, which would make it possible for Kosovo Serbs to take part in local government, and for Belgrade to get a say in the final-status talks. With a valid strategy clearly missing, Serbian politicians keep repeating that an independent Kosovo is unacceptable. "Kosovo and Metohija is part of Serbia and Serbia- Montenegro, and it is the policy of this state to preserve the province within the internationally recognized borders and save the Serb people, denied everything there, including the right to life," said adviser to the Serbian premier Slobodan Samardzic. It is clear, however, that the Democratic Party of Serbia and other parties promoting an unyielding policy toward Kosovo, have realized that the EU decisions reflect a major change they have totake into account. The ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party believes that Belgrade should secure support from two great powers, Russia and China, before the talks on Kosovo's future status began. It is unlikely, however, that such support, even if obtained, could alter the international plans for Kosovo. Since independence is not going to be proclaimed anyway, Russia and China will have nothing to vote about as members of the U.N. Security Council, even if they decided to support Belgrade.

Tadic

Serbian President Boris Tadic is sending a more flexible message in this context. He confronted Kostunica last year, when he called upon Kosovo Serbs to go to the polls. Tadic is the only influential Serbian politician who said very clearly that Serbia had to realize that Kosovo couldn't have the status it had during Slobodan Milosevic's regime, and that it had no economic or any other powers to maintain such a status in the first place. Tadic voiced his opinion in an interview with BETA shortly ahead of the ministerial meeting in Brussels, which definitely confirmed that the situation couldn't go back to the time before the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. "An independent Kosovo is absolutely unacceptable for me. It would destabilize the entire region, not only Serbia. The future status of Kosovo must be sought somewhere between the "old" solution from the Milosevic era and independence, which I refuse to accept," said Tadic. The Serbian president is clearly sharing the EU view, fully aware of the political reality. He is also ready to publicize his views, despite the danger of them being interpreted as "non-patriotic." However realistic the Serbian president might be, he is still far from taking a serious initiative in relation to Kosovo. His most daunting task is to persuade Kosovo Serbs to start cooperating with Kosovo's provisional institutions, or more precisely, Kosovo Albanians. Tadic does not dare call on Serb political representatives headed by Oliver Ivanovic, who were elected to the Kosovo assembly last year, to take an active role in the Kosovo institutions. On the other hand, since it is quite clear that the Serb boycott is bringing nothing but trouble to the local Serb population, it is not impossible that he might just as well do so in the next few months. Tadic's visit to Kosovo Serbs last week was by all means encouraging. He promised to the thousands that greeted him that he would "do everything I possibly can" to prevent Kosovo from becoming independent, but he also told them that they had to take into account the international demands. The Serbian president believes the problems should be addressed by Brussels, Belgrade and Pristina!

Belgrade Media Update Feb 24, 2005

SNC denounces Kosovo Government’s decentralization plan as contrary to 1244

The Steering Committee of the Serb National Council of Kosovo (SNC) rejected yesterday the plan adopted a day earlier by the Kosovo Government on the reform of local authorities and the decision on forming pilot municipalities within the plan on decentralization, because it is "contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, as changes in the territorial organization of municipalities in the province cannot be effected by the provincial government." It condemned the concept of decentralization and stated that it was one-sidedly brought by the international community and the Kosovo authority, without the participation of Belgrade authorities and the local Serbs, and as such, represents a flagrant violation of international documents and directly opposes the interests of Serbs and the Serbian State in the province. The Kosovo Government’s plan of decentralization had been pronounced an illegal document a day before by the Hashim Thaci led opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Tanjug reported.

Serbian Power Utility Supplies Kosovo With Electricity

The Serbian Electric Power company (EPS) stated yesterday that it had begun electricity deliveries to the UNMIK managed Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) upon receiving a request by the KEK to start supplying electricity in order to avoid black-outs in areas for which electricity comes from the Djakovica, Klina, Decani, Pec and Istok transformer stations. Pointing out that these areas are exclusively populated by Albanians, EPS stated that it wishes to create a positive atmosphere for solving the electricity problems of the Serbs in Kosovo. The company also said that this deal was the proof they have transmission and production capabilities sufficient for supplying all consumers in Serbia, but also in the southern Serbian province, regardless of their ethnic background, Beta reported.

Rugova Resigns From Post of Party President

The Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova yesterday handed his resignation to the position of leader of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo (LDK), the largest Albanian party in Kosovo he has lead since its foundation 15 years ago. Rugova informed the party leadership that he had decided to resign due to the numerous obligations he currently has as Kosovo President, Beta reported.