EU Foreign Minister Josef Borrell on Monday announced “progress” in normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia, but a new meeting will be needed to sign and confirm the implementation of a draft agreement approved by the former adversaries.
“There has been progress today, but there is still work to be done to ensure that what was agreed is implemented,” Josip Borrell said after a meeting in Brussels with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurdi. Discuss the scheme proposed by the European Union.
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After the meeting, Jozef Borrell released a draft agreement to achieve a practical normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. The plan, consisting of eleven articles, states that “Serbia will not oppose Kosovo’s membership of the international system”, Pristina’s main request, and that “no party shall prevent or encourage others to prevent the progress of the other party in its European course. ‘.
It also proposes to provide “the Serbian community in Kosovo (…) with an appropriate level of self-governance and the possibility of financial assistance from Serbia”. This is a delicate point for Pristina, which has been reluctant to allow Kosovo Serb-majority municipalities to merge into an association backed by Belgrade, fearing the creation of an enclave that would undermine its sovereignty.
Persistent tensions
Article 1 of the Plan further provides that “Parties recognize each other’s national documents and symbols, including passports, diplomas, license plates and customs stamps”. The two leaders agreed on the principle of implementing this “agreement on normalization,” but “new negotiations on the methods of this procedure are still necessary,” declared Joseph Borrell.
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A new meeting will be organized in March and EU Ambassador Miroslav Lajcak will continue his shuttles between Belgrade and Pristina in the coming weeks, he said. “It’s important to agree. It’s even more important to implement what’s agreed, which still needs to be finalized,” Joseph Borrell emphasized.
Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina remain alive and well nearly 25 years after a deadly war between Albanian independence rebels and Serbian forces. A conflict that ended with a NATO bombing campaign.
Serbia refuses to recognize independence declared in 2008 by its former province, which has a population of 1.8 million people of ethnic Albanian descent, with a Serb minority of about 120,000. Relations between Belgrade and Pristina have gone from crisis to crisis over the years.
“I think we are on the right track to normalize relations with Serbia,” Albin Kurdi said. “I did not sign (the agreement) because the other side was not ready to do so. I expressed my willingness and willingness to sign this text,” he said. For his part, Aleksandar Vucic described it as a “difficult meeting as expected”. Albin captioned a photo of his meeting with Kurdi and Joseph Borel on his Instagram account and vowed “no surrender”.
“Sit down and work”
The tone adopted by Aleksandar Vucic differs from that of Albin Kurti. The Serbian president commented that Monday’s talks were “nothing special”. “Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t have a road map, we don’t have one. We have to sit down and work on the road map,” he continued.
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Last month, the Serbian president said publicly that he had received an ultimatum from the West to normalize relations with Kosovo, and that Serbia would face dire consequences if it failed.
The question of Kosovo is a frenzy for some of the 6.7 million Serbs, who regard the territory as their national and religious cradle, where important battles have been fought for centuries.
Many members of Kosovo’s Serbian minority renounce all allegiance to Pristina, encouraged by Belgrade. It is the scene of frequent clashes, demonstrations and sometimes violence, especially in the north, near the border with Serbia.
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