http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/ Kosovo Report Saturday, February 18, 2006 * <http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/2006/02/kosovo-talks-must-tackle-practical .html> Kosovo talks must tackle practical issues-Ahtisaari
* <http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/2006/02/serbia-declined-us-envoys-deal-ove r.html> Serbia declined US envoy's "deal" over Kosovo independence - PM's adviser * EU, <http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/2006/02/eu-albania-sign-stabilization-pact .html> Albania sign stabilization pact * <http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/2006/02/hopeful-words-on-european-union.ht ml> Hopeful Words on European Union Expansion in the Balkans http://euobserver.com/9/20937 EUobserver * News > Headline News <http://euobserver.com/9> > Barroso urges goodwill on Kosovo visit 17.02.2006 - 18:55 CET | By Ekrem Krasniqi European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called for goodwill on the Kosovo independence question while visiting Pristina on Friday (17 February), but a leading think-tank believes the EU should do more to push a resolution forward. "The time has come for a generous compromise. All sides have to make a compromise," he said after meeting new Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu on the final leg of a major Western Balkans tour, Balkans agency DTT-NET.COM reports. Mr Barroso added that the EU "is committed to find a long term solution for a stable, democratic and multiethnic Kosovo, where all the communities can live together in peace." His statement comes two days before UN envoy Martti Ahtissari kicks off Kosovo status talks between Pristina and Belgrade in Vienna on Monday. Earlier this week, the Serbian president showed Belgrade's reluctance to entertain Kosovan Albanians' pro-independence agenda by suggesting to the UN security council that a decision on the final status of the UN-administered territory should be put off for 20 years. US and western European diplomats gave the proposal short shrift however. Serbia is also facing Montenegro's departure from the Serbia-Montenegro alliance, following a referendum in April or May, with the EU recently saying it would endorse a pro-independence vote if 55 percent or more people call for secession. ICG urges firm approach Influential Brussels-based think-tank, the International Crisis Group (ICG), said in a report out Friday that Kosovan Albanians and Serbia will not be able to reach agreement on the territory's status on their own, however. "To create a stable Kosovo, the international community must dare to impose independence rather than attempt finessing Pristina and Belgrade's differences with an ambiguous and unstable settlement," the study states. "It is extremely unlikely that any Serbian government will voluntarily acquiesce to the kind of independence, conditional though it is likely to be, which is necessary for a secure, long-term solution." The report said it might fall to UN envoy Ahtissari to push through an "independence package." The ICG also urged Kosovo's Albanian majority to negotiate deals for Serbian and other ethnic minority group rights in the event of independence. The think-tank, which has the ear of senior politicians in Brussels, warned the international community it would "have to remain in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo to avoid a violent breakdown after independence." Kosovo is officially part of Serbia-Montenegro, but has been under UN rule since mid-June 1999, when NATO drove out Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian military and police forces following a crackdown on the ethnic Albanians in the region. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] =============== Group Moderator: [EMAIL PROTECTED] page at http://magazine.sorabia.net for more informations about current situation in Serbia http://www.sorabia.net Slusajte GLAS SORABIJE nas talk internet-radio (Serbian Only) http://radio.sorabia.net Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
