VOA常速英语2008年-Greek Minister Says Europe Divided on Kosovo

By Barry Wood
Washington
14 February 2008

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis told a Washington audience Wednesday the European Union is divided on whether to officially recognize Kosovo as a territory independent of Serbia.  VOA's Barry Wood has more.

Bakoyannis makes clear that Greece is in no hurry to recognize Kosovo, which is expected to declare its independence from Serbia by the end of the month. Speaking at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, she stressed the importance of the 27 European Union members reaching a common stance on Kosovo.

Under the plan for Kosovo's supervised independence the EU will take over most of the functions of the United Nations, which has administered the territory since 1999.

Bakoyannis says Monday's meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels will have Kosovo high on the agenda.

"The European Union needs much more discussion if we want to have a united position. And it is needed on Kosovo more than any other place," she said.

On another Balkans-related topic, Bakoyannis says that, while Greece favors NATO membership for Croatia, Albania and Macedonia, the absence of good relations between Greece and its northern neighbor Macedonia presents a problem.  Greece has threatened to block Macedonia's membership unless Skopje agrees to change the name of its country.

Bakoyannis says the name Macedonia implies a territorial¹ claim on Greece's northern Macedonia province.

"I really hope that our friends in Skopje will understand that the common Euro-Atlantic future can not be based on irredentist ideas of yesterday, but on positive ideas for a better European future of tomorrow," she said.

A UN envoy² in coming days is expected to make new proposals for resolving the long-standing dispute over Macedonia's name.

Macedonia is bordered on the north by Kosovo and one third of its population is ethnic³ Albanian.  There are fears that if Macedonia fails to gain admission to NATO, it could enter a period of ethnic upheaval⁴.

1 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。