Friday 3rd October 2008 MEDIA HEADLINES IN ENGLISH

You’re listening to NEWS REPORT, a summary of today’s media, prepared by UNMIK ON AIR

Kosovo awaits new recognitions,
Bosnia in need of constitutional changes, and
Georgia and Ukraine receive NATO setback

KOSOVO
Serbia will be surprised by the new wave of recognitions of Kosovo’s independence, as a result of the work by Kosovo and international partners, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said yesterday. The reaction comes after Serbia’s foreign Minister warned that some states will withdraw their decisions of recognizing Kosovo. Meanwhile, media report that FYR of Macedonia and Portugal will soon take a decision on Kosovo.

Foreign Minister of Great Britain David Miliband expects that after the debate in Parliament scheduled for today, Montenegro will decide to recognize the independence of Kosovo. Milibend pointed out that, according to him, the recognition of Kosovo was “the key for strengthening regional stability”.

No one can condition Serbia’s European integration by its recognition of the independence of Kosovo, said President Boris Tadic yesterday. Tadic said that there were politicians in the EU who believed that without recognizing Kosovo Serbia cannot joint the EU, but that Serbia would never agree to such conditions.

Hundreds of Kosovo Serbs protested yesterday against the deployment of EULEX which they see as a symbol of Kosovo's independence. The protest, held in three different towns without any reported incidents, was organized a day before UNMIK plans to re-open its court in Mitrovica.

The U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Cameron Munter called on Serbian government to help in the deployment and functioning of the EU mission in Kosovo - EULEX. “Such a mission will make Kosovo become stable, while regional stability is something we all want. We are convinced this will happen,” Munter said.

Serbia’s Government is preparing a strategy for Serbs’ sustainable return and existence in Kosovo, the Minister for Kosovo in Belgrade government said. Goran Bogdanovic added that “Kosovo’s division is unacceptable and this is not a topic Serbian government is dealing with”.

A delegation from the EU Parliament Security and Defence Committee is visiting Kosovo. Minister of Security Fehmi Mujota said the delegation will provide a report which will help acceleration of Kosovo’s recognition by the EU Member Countries.

Czech embassy in Pristina announced today it had recognized Kosovo passports, but the office won’t be issuing visas. According to Interior Ministry the citizens can apply for visas in on of neighboring countries.

In its recent poll, UNDP found that there is a decrease of satisfaction with the work of UNMIK and its chief. Kosovo institutions also saw a decline of satisfaction with the people interviewed but to a lesser scale. Issues of biggest concern to respondents include unemployment with 29% and poverty with 27%.

REGIONAL
Bosnia-Herzegovina’s High Representative Miroslav Lajcak said the country’s EU integration would be impossible without reforming the constitution. "With the current political setup in accordance with the terms of the Dayton Peace Agreement, it is certainly impossible to join the EU," Lajcak said.

The World Bank has approved a new four-year lending programme worth $1.8 billion to support Croatia's EU accession process. The new Country Partnership Strategy outlines co-operation from 2009 to 2012. The Bank says the strategy will focus on issues like sustaining economic stability, and strengthening growth in the private sector.

Albania’s Committee for Integration approved a programme for membership to NATO. "We have made some achievements, but the expectations are even higher," Prime Minister Sali Berisha said. Although the country has earmarked 2% of its GDP for defence, there is still work to be done to have a professional army by 2010, Berisha noted.

INTERNATIONAL
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO won't give Georgia and Ukraine a road map to membership at a meeting later this year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced gas deals with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

US negotiator Christopher Hill is closing his visit to North Korea today aimed at persuading it not to restart its nuclear weapons programme and to return to a disarmament pact. Hill is expected to return to Seoul today and travel on to Beijing for talks with China.

WEATHER
The day will be partly cloudy with the temperatures moving from 16 to 10 degrees. Rain is forecasted for the weekend with high temperatures of 21 and a low of 3 degrees Celsius.

And that’s the latest. Thank you for listening and goodbye.