Most poll participants say unemployment is Kosovo's biggest problem

Excerpt from unattributed report: "Kosovo's biggest problem remains unemployment", published by Kosovo Albanian newspaper Koha Ditore on 27 April

Prishtina [Pristina], 26 April: In two surveys conducted by the Index-Kosova agency in November 2004 and February 2005, 1,000 Kosovars (excluding Serbs) were asked to give their opinion about current worst problems in Kosova [Kosovo] and about the Kosova government's talks with Belgrade on technical issues and the country's final status. The results showed that most Kosovars -56 per cent (58 per cent in November 2004) - considered unemployment as the biggest problem in Kosova today.

Asked to give their opinion about which issues the government should be concerned with, most respondents, or 40 per cent, said the status issue is the most urgent of all. It is worth noting that regarding "the biggest problem in Kosova today", the country's unresolved status came second, after unemployment. In November 2004, 19 per cent of respondents were worried about the status issue, while in February 2005 the figure reached 26 per cent. [Passage omitted]

Regarding the level of support for talks with Serbia on Kosova's status, 49 per cent of respondents said they "partially" supported them, while in July 2003 the figure of those who supported talks with Serbia was 59 per cent. [Passage omitted]

Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 27 Apr 05 pp 1, 5