The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announced this Saturday an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, to implement “in good faith” the proposal of the European Union (EU) for the normalization of relations between the two countries.
Josep Borrell met this Saturday in the town of Ohrid, North Macedonia, with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to draw up a roadmap for the implementation of the EU plan, Although no agreement has been signed.
Kosovo and Serbia “committed themselves fully to respect all the articles of the agreement and to implement them in good faith,” the Community’s High Representative for Foreign Policy said after a 12-hour meeting.
The EU politician was trying to negotiate with the interlocutors how to implement the details of the agreement proposed by the EU on February 27 in Brussels.
The pact requires Belgrade and Pristina to recognize each other’s official documents so that citizens can travel freely between the two countries, and that Serbia not prevent Kosovo from joining international organizations.
“It’s about how the agreement is implemented, the practical measures, who takes them and how. They say the devil is in the details, and sometimes the devil is in the calendar,” said Josep Borrell, admitting it wasn’t an easy trade. .
The official announced that Kosovo promised to start “immediately” negotiations with the EU to cede an “adequate level of self-government” to the country’s Serb community.
But, he added, unfortunately no agreement has been signed, as Kosovo “lacks flexibility” and Serbia “refused to sign” on “a matter of principle”, although it is willing to implement the agreement.
Josep Borrell said he will present a report to EU foreign ministers at their meeting in Brussels on Monday, and to European Union leaders at their summit in the same city on Thursday and Friday.
Aleksandar Vucic said he was satisfied with the progress made in the meeting with the EU and Kosovo towards normalization between the two countries, especially regarding Pristina’s obligation to cede some autonomy to the Kosovo Serb population.
“It is of great importance for us that the formation of the Association of Serbian Municipalities has been placed as a priority commitment,” he said.
The Association of Serb-majority Municipalities in Kosovo, a form of autonomy in areas such as education, health and the economy, was agreed in 2013 with the mediation of the EU, but has yet to be implemented in the face of strong opposition from Pristina.
Serbia demanded its creation as a condition for any further action.
Albin Kurti regretted that the Serbian president did not sign the agreement.
“It is now up to the EU to make it internationally binding,” he said.
Serbia does not recognize the independence that its former province of Kosovo, populated in its vast majority by ethnic Albanians, proclaimed in 2008.
Officials from the two countries agreed last month to negotiate normalization on the basis of a US-backed EU plan, after months of tension between the two countries.
They both want to join the EU, but the European bloc believes they need to improve relations first.
Kosovo is a former ethnically Albanian majority Serb province. The 1998-1999 war broke out when ethnic Albanian separatists rebelled against the Serb government, and Belgrade responded with a brutal crackdown.
Some 13,000 people died, the majority of ethnic Albanians. In 1999, a NATO military intervention forced Serbia to withdraw from the territory. Kosovo declared its independence in 2008.
Source: TSF
