(13 Mar 2008)
1. Tilt down of exterior of Kosovo government building
2. Sign reading: (Albanian, Serbian and English) “Government meeting room”
3. Pan of Kosovo cabinet meeting
4. SOUNDBITE: (Albanian) Hashim Thaci, Prime Minister of Kosovo:
“We will make sure that all our documents comply with the highest standards according to EU laws and legislations. This will be effective as soon as possible. All Kosovo citizens living here and abroad are entitled to Kosovo state documents.”
5. Cutaway of cabinet members
6. Thaci showing design of new passport
7. Close of design of new passport
8. Various of head of EU mission, Yves de Kermabon, meeting Thaci
9. Close of emblem showing government building and reading: (Albanian, Serbian, English) “The Government of Kosovo”
10. Wide of news conference
11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Yves de Kermabon, head of European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX):
“My intention is to work Kosovo-wide and this mission EULEX is aimed to be deployed Kosovo-wide and to work for all the population in Kosovo including all the communities, so I think we need to explain what is this mission to link with all the communities and all the people in charge and to work with them in order to implement and to improve this (inaudible) situation.”
12. Close-up of Kosovo flag
13. SOUNDBITE: (Albanian) Hashim Thaci, Prime Minister of Kosovo:
“Kosovo will cooperate with Serbia as two separate states, as two neighbouring countries. We will invest so we can have a good relationship and cooperation with Serbia, but we need always to separate the state of Serbia with its citizens.”
14. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE:
Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, on Thursday unveiled the design for the country’s new passport, almost a month after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in the government building in Pristina, Thaci said he would “make sure that all our documents comply with the highest standards according to EU laws and legislations. This will be effective as soon as possible”.
“All Kosovo citizens living here and abroad are entitled to Kosovo state documents,” he added.
After unveiling the passports, Thaci met the head of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), Yves de Kermabon.
The head of the 1,800 strong police and justice mission that is to deploy in Kosovo said he would seek to establish contact with the minority Serbs in Kosovo’s north and soothe their suspicion of the EU-led mission.
“This mission EULEX is aimed to be deployed Kosovo-wide and to work for all the population in Kosovo including all the communities,” Kermabon said.
Serbia has branded the EU-led mission to be illegal and Kosovo’s Serbs threatened to boycott and obstruct its work.
EU facilities in Kosovo’s north have come under attack several time since Kosovo declared independence
The United Nations mission in Kosovo is struggling to establish control over courts and customs services in the Serb-dominated north, officials said on Wednesday.
When Kosovo declared independence on February 17, minority Serbs attacked border outposts, forcing UN staff to evacuate and NATO peacekeepers to take control over Kosovo’s borders.

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