PM Koštunica outlines gov't program

PM Koštunica outlines gov't program

These principles include policy towards the issue of Kosovo, European integration, co-operation with the Hague tribunal, social and economy policies and the fight against crime and corruption, the government reported on its website.

Koštunica explained the first program principle of the government that pertained to a clear definition of state policy towards Kosovo-Metohija:

“This government will base its position on the fact that the UN Security Council is the last institution in the world that can violate the UN Charter, and it will thus never adopt a resolution that allows the seizure of 15 percent of the territory of a UN member state,” he said.

“We simply believe that there are states, such as Russia, that will prevent the principles and foundations on which the entire world order rests be violated and pulled down,” he added.

Speaking of the possibility of an one-sided recognition of Kosovo’s statehood, Koštunica said “it was less than zero”, adding that that Kosovo Serbs must not be scared by it and forced to leave their homes.

“The government warns that a possible recognition of the province's independence can by no means be represented as an act of friendship towards Serbia because that is an act of the harshest interference in another country's internal affairs,” the prime minister stressed.

Koštunica remarked that every country that would decide to recognize Kosovo's independence one-sidedly had to take into account that this would cause serious consequences in mutual relations.

“We believe that it is possible to find a compromise and we will persist in our demand that talks be held and an acceptable form of autonomy found for the ethnic-Albanian minority in Kosovo,” he concluded his address on the issue of Kosovo.

Speaking of the resumption of Serbia’s EU integrations as the second principle of the new cabinet, Koštunica said that it was an equally clear and undisputed position that "the process of EU integration cannot represent compensation for any concession regarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia."

Kostunica said that when it comes to European integration, the Serbian government will make efforts to speed up the process of adopting laws in harmony with EU legislation.

He said that Serbia would undertake "all necessary measures aimed at successful conclusion of the co-operation with the Hague tribunal in the shortest possible period of time, which is why the National security Council, tasked with coordination of the security sector, had been formed."

Koštunica said that the first and foremost aim of his cabinet will be to enable Serbia and its citizens, live better in every aspect better, to increase employment and improve life standards. 

The prime minister said that the development of infrastructure is the precondition for Serbia’s development as a whole, and particularly uniform regional development, due to which the Serbian government will pay particular attention to development in that area.