GERMANY/ FILE: German Chancellor speaks on Kosovo, EU constitution and Prussian Trust.

The German Chancellor has called for a balanced decision on Kosovo, while also making clear her government doesn't support an organisation devoted to the return of property to Germans to Germans expelled from Poland after World War II. A looming decision on the fate of Kosovo must bring "maximum" satisfaction to the citizens of the province without stirring turbulence in Serbia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Reuters. "We need maximum satisfaction in Kosovo but also satisfaction, or at least no turbulence, in Serbia," Merkel said in an interview on Friday (January 19). U.N. Kosovo envoy Martti Ahtisaari is due to present proposals on the future of the Serbian province, one of the poorest in Europe and scarred by ethnic conflict, following the elections held in Serbia on Sunday (January 21). Kosovo's 90 percent Albanian majority has demanded full independence since NATO intervened in their 1990s uprising against Serbian repression while Belgrade favours no more than autonomy for what was once the heart of a medieval Serb kingdom. "What brings me hope is that Mr. Ahtisaari is also speaking to the Serbs and that, I believe, is the right way to solve the problems," Merkel said. Most EU members and the United States favour giving Kosovo Albanians a form of supervised independence later this year since there is no prospect of forcing them back into the arms of Belgrade after seven years under U.N. protection. Ahtisaari will present his report as the time nears for the U.N. Security Council to draft a new resolution to wind up the current U.N. mission and mandate a new envoy for Kosovo. Passage of a new U.N. resolution may be complicated by Serbia's historical ally Russia, which holds a veto right in the Security Council. For domestic political reasons, some EU members like Spain also have doubts about granting Kosovo independence. As EU president, Germany will take a lead role in trying to forge a common bloc stance on the matter and broking agreement with Russia. During the interview, Merkel also stressed the importance of getting the new EU constitution underway, especially for the sake of potential future members such as Croatia. "Especially the Czech Republic is of the opinion that we (the EU) have to be able to expand, meaning, that once Croatia fulfils the conditions, Croatia will become a member of the European Union. That is not possible with the current constitutional contract." Merkel said. "I also believe the Czech Republic wants more cooperation within the EU as far as energy policies and especially independence in that respect are concerned. The new constitutional contract pinpoints energy policy to be a European issue. If we do not succeed with the constitutional contract, those things will not happen" the Chancellor continued. Merkel also tried to put Polish worries at rest, that the German government might be supportive of the so called Prussian Trust, a German organisation that devotes itself to the return of property which once belonged to Germans expelled after World War Two from areas given to Poland under the Potsdam agreement. "We are completely opposed to the re-settlement claims of the Prussian Trust. We have repeatedly expressed this to the Polish government, as well," Merkel stressed. "In democracies, one cannot refuse individuals to lodge claims, but politically, there is no support for them from any kind of government in Germany. The Federal Government will never try to change history in any way, we know what happened, we understand the German blame. This is what we will keep underscoring", Merkel said.

ITN Source | January 22, 2007

Tags:. .balanced. .stressed. .expand. .doubts. .spain