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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Council and Fund for Kosovo-Metohija will help Kosovo Serbs live more peacefully

Belgrade, 29 December 2004

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica stated that the Serbian government today formed a Council for Kosovo-Metohija, which will gather all relevant representatives of Serbs in the province and representatives of most significant institutions in the country, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Serbian Orthodox Church, whose opinions will be taken into account when making decisions concerning the resolution of the Kosovo problem.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica

Speaking at a press conference held after the government session, Kostunica said that the State Fund for Kosovo-Metohija was also established. This institution will secure funds that will help Serbs in the province live a more peaceful life. The funds will be secured outside budgetary mechanisms, with the help of the Serbian Diaspora and across a wide public spectrum that is aware of the importance of Kosovo-Metohija for this country's future.

The Prime Minister said that a New Year and Christmas reception will be held on January 10 for collecting first contributions for the Fund for Kosovo-Metohija.

At its session today, the government accepted a proposal of the head of the coordinating centres for Kosovo-Metohija and Southern Serbia, Nebojsa Covic, to make certain changes in the work and organisation of those two bodies. This will help adapt them to new circumstances and in the implementation of the government's Plan for the Political Solution to the Situation in Kosovo-Metohija.

Speaking about the government's work in 2004, Kostunica said that 105 bills of crucial importance for the rule of law and establishment of a democratic society were prepared. Of that number, 81 bills were enacted by the Serbian parliament, and 24 bills are in the parliamentary procedure.

The government's priorities in 2004 were the building and completing of democratic institutions in Serbia and encouraging completion and functioning of the institutions of the state union, Kostunica said.

Following the March 17 pogrom against Serbs and non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija, the government seriously and responsibly approached the issue of searching for a political solution to Kosovo-Metohija, Kostunica stressed while reiterating that that solution is contained in the government's Plan, unanimously adopted in the Serbian parliament.

The Prime Minister voiced hope that the next year will be marked by the securing of adequate institutional guarantees for Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, regulation of relations within the state union of Serbia-Montenegro through respect of the Constitutional Charter and the adoption of a new constitution of Serbia.