VOA常速英语2008年-Europe Ready to Recognize Kosovo's Independence

By Barry Wood
Washington
12 February 2008

Finland's Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva said Monday most European Union member countries are prepared to recognize Kosovo's independence from Serbia. VOA's Barry Wood reports Kanerva is in Washington meeting with U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Fresh from a visit to Kosovo, Kanerva said Kosovo is likely to declare independence very soon.

"So, in a way the moment has come," Kanerva said.

Diplomats¹ say the Kosovo is likely to declare independence as early as February 17. Kanerva told a gathering² at Washington's Woodrow Wilson Center that the 27-nation European Union is set to approve sending to Kosovo a special mission to monitor the territory's supervised independence.

"That mission of approximately 1,000 people, working to create a civil society in Kosovo and promote the conditions and circumstances [of minorities] there," he said. "It is extremely important."

But the EU mission is denounced as illegal by Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. He insists that only the United Nations has the authority to intervene in Kosovo, a de facto U.N. protectorate since 1999 when NATO bombing drove Serbian troops out of the province.

Russia, Serbia's ally, has blocked UN endorsement³ of an international plan for Kosovo's supervised independence. Kosovo is over 90 percent ethnic⁴ Albanian. Sixteen thousand NATO-led peacekeepers are in Kosovo.

Martin Sletzinger, the head of the Wilson Center's East European program, worries about Russia's capacity to cause trouble over Kosovo.

"I don't see how the Russians could physically⁵ stop the sending of the EU mission, but I think there are ways they can get European attention if they're unhappy, which would make some European Union countries at least think twice [about recognizing the new state]," he said.

Following independence, the European Union is to take over many of the administrative⁶ responsibilities currently vested in the United Nations. Kosovo's government is coordinating⁷ its independence declaration with both the United States and European Union. Most EU countries indicate they will quickly recognize Kosovo's independence, but Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, Greece and Spain say they will wait and see.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

4 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。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白