The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, are meeting today in Brussels for a new round of talks for the normalization of relations. Their first meeting this year takes place at a time when European officials, engaged in mediating the process, are nearing the end of their five-year mandate.
Josep Borrell will serve as head of European diplomacy until the autumn, while next week it will be known who will succeed him. Miroslav Lajcak has been appointed EU ambassador to Switzerland, but will act as a mediator in the dialogue until his replacement is found. Most likely, today’s meeting will be the last in the framework of the dialogue, which will be hosted by Borrell.
In the European Union, they do not have great expectations from him. All that the EU expects from the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia is that they confirm their commitment to the agreements reached last year in Brussels and Ohrid. The agreement on the path towards the normalization of relations, which was reached on February 27, 2023 in Brussels, and the Annex for its implementation, which was reached on March 18, 2023, in Ohrid, do not have the signatures of Kurt and Vučić, because the president of Serbia has refused such a thing.
Neither party has, to date, made any move towards implementing any element of this agreement. Prishtina refuses to work on the implementation of point 7 of the agreement, which refers to the formation of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, while Belgrade continues to violate article 4, where it is stated that it will not oppose Kosovo’s membership in international organizations.
Despite the lack of signatures, the EU insists the agreement is legally binding on both sides. Kurti and Vucic met for the last time on September 14 of last year. In that meeting, the implementation of the Agreement towards the normalization of relations was discussed, but it turned out to be unsuccessful and ended with Kurti’s accusations that Lajçak “is not neutral”. Ten days later, the attack took place in Banjska – a village in the north of Kosovo – where armed groups of Serbs attacked the Kosovo police and killed a policeman. In the armed clashes that followed, three Serbian attackers were also killed.
At the end of October, there was also an unsuccessful attempt to bring the parties closer together, when the main European leaders joined: the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni. Kurti and Vucic had separate meetings with European leaders, but agreement was not possible. Kurti has insisted on signing the Agreement for the normalization of relations, while Vucic has refused.
