Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-12-06

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] International community criteria as important as final Kosovo status

[02] Greece opposes UK budget plan for EU

[01] International community criteria as important as final Kosovo status

"The criteria have been set and they will be implemented before we settle on the final status," Molyviatis said.

He added that the Inter-Balkan Cooperation delegation is visiting the region in order to hear the views of all involved parties.

"We are not here to suggest a solution. We remain dedicated to the principles and guidelines adopted by the United Nations, the European Union and the Contact Group for defining [Kosovo's] final status," the minister stressed, while expressing his opposition to the adoption of a strict negotiating timetable.

He did, however, note that negotiations should not be allowed to drag on either.

Molyviatis reiterated the view that all countries in the region should participate in the process and emphasised that the solution chosen in the end should be geared towards promoting stability in the greater region.

Aside from Rugova, Molyviatis and Romania's and Croatia's deputy foreign ministers also met separately with Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi, main opposition leader Hasim Thaci, "Serb List" leader Oliver Ivanovic and head of the UNMIK mission Soren Jessen-Petersen.

According to diplomatic sources, the Albanian side insists on full independence for Kosovo, while the Serb minority raised the issue of security for the minority community.

Ivanovic said that he was uncertain as to whether there was any intention for compromise, referring to recent acts of violence against Serbs, which he explained as an attempt by the perpetrators to strengthen their position ahead of upcoming negotiations.

He also criticised UNMIK saying that it had insufficiently reacted to the episodes.

The troika will have talks with Serbian leaders in Belgrade on Wednesday.

[02] Greece opposes UK budget plan for EU

"The proposal is incompatible with Greece's position," Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis said after a meeting in Brussels of his EU counterparts. Britain holds the bloc's rotating presidency.

"At the same time, there is leeway for improvement in negotiations that are to be held in coming days," Alogoskoufis noted.

At an EU summit in June, Greece backed a compromise by Luxembourg, the bloc's former rotating president, which it saw offering a fairer distribution of the cost of EU enlargement.

Britain's proposal calls for a slimmed-down, long-term budget that cuts 24 billion euros from a spending level proposed by Luxembourg, most of it taken from regional aid to east European countries.

The EU's 25 members aim to reach a deal on the budget at a summit on Dec 15 and 16.

Tough talks anticipated

Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Valynakis told reporters that Greece was studying the British budget package, forging alliances in what he called "tough, painful" negotiations among the EU's 25 members.

"The final outcome cannot be determined yet," Valynakis said.

He noted that Greece's had two aims: the attainment of a final agreement that would show the EU was capable of taking major decisions; and a drive to obtain an increase in funding "down to the last euro" to aid Greek growth.

Valynakis is to represent Greece at a working dinner for 20 EU members known as "friends of cohesion" ahead of a finance ministers' meeting on Wednesday that is expected to bring the first official statement by the bloc's members on the UK budget deal.

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