The high representative for foreign policy and security of the European Union, Josep Borrell, said that he expects that today’s dialogue meeting between Kosovo and Serbia will discuss the achievements in the dialogue, but also the start of the implementation of the Agreement on the way to the normalization of reports.
In a statement to the media, before the start of the meetings, Borrell said that the preliminary high-level meetings between the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, will discuss the steps towards the implementation of the agreement.
“Unfortunately, the implementation of the agreement [for the normalization of relations] has not yet started. And hopefully today we can definitely talk about how to make sure that we ultimately move forward with this deal. In this regard, we will discuss the next steps and it is clear that what the parties have agreed on must be implemented. Agreements are the basis of actions, but actions must come after agreements. Implementation is the key word,” said Borrell.
The head of EU diplomacy recalled that the preliminary meetings between Kurti and Vučić were mainly about “managing consecutive crises”, but said that he hopes that this meeting will be different.
“Today, in the new round of dialogue, we hope it will convey a different message and end differently. Our special envoy has been working and we want to discuss with the two leaders what has been achieved in the dialogue during our mandate since 2019. Also, it will be important for us to know how both sides see the the future of the dialogue mediated by the EU, how the parties want to continue this process”, said Borrell.
He said that after a few months, his position and that of Lajcak will be taken by other people, but he emphasized that “the agreements, the conclusions of the Council and the expectations of the EU will not change”.
“The normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is at the heart of the EU’s engagement in the Western Balkans. Normalization is also closely linked to the accession path [to the EU],” said Borrell.
In the afternoon, a new round of talks on the normalization of relations will be held in Brussels.
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.
“We hope that both leaders will come with the necessary political vision and courage to bring Kosovo and Serbia closer to their European future”, Lajcak said a day before the meeting.
Most likely, today’s meeting will be the last in the framework of the dialogue, which will be hosted by Borrell.
In the afternoon, Borrell meets with Prime Minister Kurti. Then, he will also meet with President Vučić, before meeting them in a tripartite meeting at the end.
The European chief diplomat is expected to speak to the media after the tripartite meeting.
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.
However, one of the reasons why Kosovo and Serbia should be careful in the dialogue process is the conditioning of payments from the European Growth Plan for the Western Balkans with progress in the dialogue.
For Kosovo and Serbia, constructive engagement in the process of normalizing relations is a specific prerequisite. And in the absence of this commitment, payments from this ambitious EU package may be suspended. Therefore, this is expected to be an additional motive for the parties in the dialogue to be more constructive in the future.
During his stay in Brussels, Vucic will also have a meeting with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.
There are no announcements about other meetings of Prime Minister Kurti in Brussels, apart from those within the dialogue.
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 was 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 insisted on signing the Agreement for the normalization of relations, while Vucic refused./REL
