Belgrade, 04. 01. 2008.

C O N T E N T :

SERBIA

• KOSTUNICA: EU TO DECIDE IF IT WANTS AGREEMENT WITH SERBIA
• LJAJIC EXPECTS IN JANUARY FIRST VISIT OF BRAMMERTZ
• EXTRADITION OF ICTY INDICTEES REMAINS SERBIA'S COMMITMENT
• VALUE OF DINAR AGAINST EURO STABILISES

• JEREMIC LAUNCHES NEW DIPLOMATIC OFFENSIVE IN NEW YORK
• TADIC OBJECTS TO AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR'S STANCE
• UN SECGEN FAVORS COMPROMISE BETWEEN BELGRADE, PRISTINA
• BAN KI MOON: DELAY MIGHT CAUSE INSTABILITY
• SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS KOSOVO ON JAN. 16
• SEJDIU SEEKS COMMITMENT OF RUPEL

BELGRADE, Jan.3 (Beta) - On Jan. 3, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that the EU "must choose" on Jan. 28 whether it will sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia or send a mission to Kosovo and Metohija.

"On Jan. 28, the EU must choose whether it will sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia, or under U.S. pressure come to the decision to send its civilian mission to Kosovo in order to begin the implementation of the rejected Ahtisaari plan on the supervised independence of Kosovo, or in other words, on seizing part of Serbia's territory," reads a statement by Kostunica sent to BETA.

According to him, if the EU were to come to the illegal decision to send a mission, the initialing of the agreement with Serbia would be invalidated and annulled.

"We have come to the point where the EU must make a choice whether it wants the entire and internationally recognized Serbia as its partner or if it wants to create a quasi state on Serbia's territory," the prime minister stated.

He added that if the EU commits itself to the basis of European values and principles, it will decide to sign the agreement with Serbia, recognizing and respecting its territorial integrity.

In his words, on Jan. 28 the EU will choose whether it will participate in the breakup of Serbia or whether it will sign the agreement with Serbia as a partner.

It is expected that Serbia and the EU will sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement on Jan. 28.

BELGRADE, Jan 3 (Tanjug) - Head of the national council for ICTY cooperation Rasim Ljajic said on Thursday that in the course of January he expected new ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz to visit Serbia.

"Today is practically the first working day this year, which, most probably, has not yet started for people in the Tribunal, Ljajic told reporters on the occasion of delivering parcels for babies born first in 2008. Ljajic said that he had had no contact yet with Belgian Serge Brammertz, who officially assumed his duties on January 1.

BELGRADE, Jan 3 (Tanjug) - Extradition of former Bosnian Serb war commander Ratko Mladic and other fugitives to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia remains one of Serbia's principal international commitments this year too, President of the National Council for Cooperation with ICTY Rasim Ljajic said Thursday.

Serbia must honor this commitment as soon as possible, he said, adding that security services are doing their job. Claims that the issue of extradition of fugitives to ICTY has been pushed into the background after the departure of former ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte are wrong, he said. Her departure from office simply coincides with some other key political issues such as resolving the future status of Kosovo-Metohija, presidential election and signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union, Ljajic told B92 TV.

BELGRADE, Jan 3 (Tanjug) - The median exchange rate of the dinar against one euro rose slightly on Thursday from 79.24 to 79.75, after a sudden drop of its value to 82 dinars for one euro on December 29, 2007.

In the previous years, it was nearly a rule before all major holidays that the exchange rate of the euro dropped because the market demand for the dinar increased, together with its price. An exception to this rule occurred on Thursday, because the euro rose to nearly 82 dinars, only to return to below 80 dinars on the next day.

Domestic economists and bankers said that this was partly due to the growth of the NBS reference interest rate to 10 percent, which was indirectly aimed at strengthening the dinar. Experts explained the reduction of the exchange rate by a large inflow of foreign currencies, as a result of the payment for the purchase of the Beograd Department Store chain.

It is impossible to foresee how the dinar will behave in 2008, but it is certain that it is in the NBS interest to preserve the stability of the dinar in order to achieve its plan for a six-percent inflation rate by the end of the year and the core inflation of between three and six percent.

NEW YORK, Jan 4 (Tanjug) - Upon his arrival in New York late on Thursday, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic evaluated that the rescheduling of the UN Security Council session from the initially planned January 9 to January 16 is a positive development of the situation, since UNSC member states will have more time to study Serbia's response to the report on Kosovo and Metohija, drawn up by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and his special envoy Joachim Ruecker.

"It is good that the session has been rescheduled because it gives us more time to present our report, inform them about the details and to lobby. We have an extensive response, because we believe that the report is full of factual inaccuracies, and we described in detail the places where the reality is not presented correctly," Jeremic told Tanjug.

Jeremic, who had arrived in New York much ahead of the session in order to prepare the field for the address of Serbian President Boris Tadic, underscored that Belgrade's new diplomatic initiative will be aimed at five non-permanent members of the UNSC, which made their debut on the scene of the UNSC.

Vuk Jeremic also welcomed the Thursday statement by media representative of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said that a compromise solution reached by Belgrade and Pristina would be the best solution to the 10-year crisis in Serbia's southern province, and that every solution outside the United Nations would be a blow to international system.

BELGRADE, Jan.3 (Beta) - Serbian President Boris Tadic on Jan. 3 strongly objected to Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer's stance that Austria would be among the first countries to recognize an independent Kosovo, and called on state officials participating in solving the Kosovo problem to approach the issue of Kosovo's future status responsibly and to refrain from prejudicing the final outcome.

Tadic stated that the future status of the Serbian province can only be reached within the U.N. Security Council, announced the Serbian president's press service.

"The possibility of finding a compromise solution has not been exhausted and therefore Serbia is asking for a continuation of the negotiations, as well as for the principle that the solution can only be reached within the U.N. Security Council," Tadic said.

Tadic emphasized that Serbia will never accept Kosovo's independence and that any unilateral solution could destabilize the region and endanger the economic perspective of all citizens.

The Belgrade media reported that the Austrian chancellor had announced that his country would be among the first to recognize Kosovo and "certainly be among those who have a clear stance on the issue and who will show the way forward."

In connection with a declaration of Kosovo's independence, he appealed to Serbian and Kosovo leaders to cooperate with the European Union and to avoid provocations.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 3 (Tanjug) - UN Secretary-General Ban Kim Moon still believes that an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo Albanians, approved by the UN Security Council, would constitute the best solution for the future status of Kosovo, his spokesperson Michele Montas said.

Ban still believes that a compromise reached through negotiations between the two parties would be the best solution, she said. Asked whether Ban supports resumption of negotiations she answered that he does. Ban also believes that resolving the Kosovo status outside the UN framework would have serious consequences for the world order, Montas said.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 4 (Tanjug) - In his latest report on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon evaluated that further delay in resolving the status of Kosovo might cause instability in the region.

Ban Ki Moon's report, that is the report drawn up by his special envoy to Kosovo Joachim Ruecker, will be discussed at the Security Council session called for January 16. The enhanced engagement of the European Union in Kosovo is important, as well as opening of European future for Kosovo, the Secretary-General said in his report, which was placed on the UN website late on Thursday.

Ban Ki Moon evaluated, as he did in several of his previous reports, that expectations among the Kosovo Albanians remain high that a solution to Kosovo's future status must be found rapidly, and as such the status quo of the past eight years is not likely to be sustainable. Should the impasse continue, events on the ground could take on a momentum of their own, putting at serious risk the achievements and legacy of the United Nations in Kosovo. "Moving forward with a process to determine Kosovo's future status should remain a high priority for the Security Council and for the international community," concluded Ban Ki Moon..

"Uncertainty and a loss of forward dynamic in the future status process could create a risk of instability, both in Kosovo and in the wider region; as well as a potential risk to the safety of United Nations staff. The parties are urged to reaffirm and act upon their declared commitments to refrain from any actions or statements that could endanger peace, incite violence or jeopardize security in Kosovo and the region," the UN Secretary-General said in his report. He also said that the turnout of Kosovo Serbs in the November 17 elections was disappointingly very low, repeating the accusations earlier made by Joachim Ruecker that the blame for such developments is on the decision of the Serbian authorities to call on their countrymen in Kosovo to boycott the elections, which was accompanied by intimidation of candidates and voters throughout the campaign.

"The elections highlighted, once again, that many members of the Kosovo Serb community, particularly those living in northern Kosovo, do not feel represented by Kosovo's Provisional Institutions. They continue, instead, to depend on parallel structures for the provision of basic services, which are supported by the authorities in Belgrade," said the UN Secretary-General.

UNITED NATIONES, Jan.3 (Beta) - The U.N. Security Council will discuss UNMIK's report on the situation in Kosovo on Jan. 16, the chairman of the Security Council in January, Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, stated in New York on Jan. 3.

Speaking at a news conference that was broadcast on the U.N. website, Ettalhi said that agreement on the form of this session is expected next week.

The Libyan ambassador explained that it has already been agreed that the meeting will be in the form of consultations, but that this would be reconsidered, since a request by Serbian President Boris Tadic to address the meeting arrived at U.N. headquarters on Jan. 3.

In a report on the situation in Kosovo over the past three months, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said that the status quo was "not very likely" to be sustained, and that this was why the continuation of the process of determining the future status of Kosovo was the key priority for the Security Council and the international community.

UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker will present the report to the Security Council.

PRISTINA, Jan.3 (Beta) - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu on Jan. 3 asked Slovenian Foreign Minister and chairman of the European Union Dimitrij Rupel to do his best to solve the issue of Kosovo's status.

"Solving the last and largest remaining problem from the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, the end of the long process of Kosovo's independence, is indeed the biggest challenge that will require your attention at the beginning of the year and during your entire EU chairmanship," reads Sejdiu's message.

Kosovo's president emphasizes that a declaration of Kosovo's independence and its international recognition in cooperation and coordination with the EU and the U.S. is of vital importance for Kosovo, as well as for South East Europe.

"I believe it would be an honor for you if Kosovo as a 'de jure' independent state during your chairmanship were to begin the long process of our country's integration into the EU," Sejdiu stated.

Sejdiu expressed his willingness to closely cooperate with Slovenia's chairing of the EU in launching the process of the European perspective of Kosovo and this entire region of Europe in order that the process be accomplished as soon as possible.