Week in review

22^nd of December

By Birol Urcan

Hello and welcome from UNMIK on air, you are listening to our week in review.

· Green light for creating two new ministries

· Kosovo Budget for 2006 approved in Parliament

· Kosovo an international railways link reopens

· Ahtisaari: Status talks start early next year

· USA appointed Wisner as envoy for Kosovo talks

· USA resolution for compromise on Kosovo status

UNMIK has given the green light for the creation of two new ministries – the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.

UNMIK Deputy Head Larry Rossin, signed the regulation, on Wednesday, paving the way for the creation of the new ministries.

Prime Minister, Bajram Kosumi said that this is a result of long work and is a good and a very powerful message for the process in which Kosovo is going through.

“This is a result of the great progress made over the past six years. It is a result of consolidation and stabilization of Kosovo’s democratic institutions, and a result of good job done by Government and UNMIK ,” he added.

Head of UNMIK Pillar I, Jean Dussourd said that along with the new competences, Kosovo institutions must be accountable in the way they use these competencies.

The officials of the international administration and the Kosovo Government have referred to the creation of the two new ministries as a historical moment for Kosovo.

Kosovo parliament has approved the draft budget for the year 2006. The budget of 656 million euro was passed with a majority vote of Members of Parliament.

Now the law on the budget has to be signed by the Special Representative of the Secretary General,- Soren Jessen Petersen.

However, the budget of the Telecommunication Regulative Authority is still to be voted on in a special parliamentary session at the request of the two largest parliamentary groups, the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Democratic Party of Kosovo.

The train line from Pristina to Skopje was reopened on Tuesday, after a six year break.

The reopening of the line was inaugurated by The Deputy Head of UNMIK Larry Rossin, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Adem Salihaj, and ministers of the Kosovar and Macedonian Government.

The Deputy Head of UNMIK Larry Rossin said that “Kosovar citizens remember this train station with pain, referring to the forced deportation of Kosovars by train to Macedonia during the conflict in 1999.

However he said one thing remains the same, the desire of people to travel freely, adding that this represents another step toward the integration of Kosovo into the European railway network.

Prishtina-Skopje railway line marks first Kosovo international traffic line, of transporting people and goods, since the conflict.

The U.N. special envoy for Kosovo status negotiations, Martti Ahtisaari, announced that the first round of talks between Belgrade and Pristina, could be held in Vienna next month.

Ahtisaari outlined that the main issues of the first round of talks will be the economy and decentralization of authority in Kosovo.

"On the basis of talks we had in Belgrade and Pristina, the issue of decentralization could provide a platform for the first round of talks, which could be held in the second half of January," Ahtisaari said at a news conference held at the U.N. head quarters in New York.

Ahtisaari has listed economy as a high priority in the status talks, and added that Kosovo can one day become self-sustainable, and that its status will also depend on its economic prospects.

Frank G. Wisner has been appointed US Envoy for the talks on the future status of Kosovo.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that “Ambassador Wisner will bring the U.S. support to the chief international negotiator, Marti Ahtisaari, with his effort to bring closer, Kosovo and Serbian officials during the talks on the future status of Kosovo”.

Rice announced the appointment after a meeting with Ahtisaari at the State Department earlier in the week.

The Kosovar Presidency and PISG officials have welcomed the appointment of the US envoy.

US Congress will vote for another resolution on Kosovo to send a clear message that the solution of Kosovo’s status ought to be acceptable to both Pristina and Belgrade.

In this resolution, the two sides are invited to solve the future of Kosovo through agreement, without predicting the outcome of status negotiations.

The text did not mention Kosovo's independence, but called for a compromise solution and pointed out that the future status of Kosovo must reflect the needs, goals and wishes of the two sides.

The new resolution will be presented to the U.S. Congress in a few days.

The U.S. Senate unanimously adopted a similar resolution at the beginning of October.

That’s all for this weeks Week in Review, thank you for listening to UNMIK on Air and have a nice weekend.