The European Union stated that it expects Kosovo and Serbia to agree on the implementation of the agreement for the normalization of relations, reached last year in Brussels and Ohrid.
These comments were made a day before the next meeting between Kosovo and Serbia’s chief negotiators, mediated by the EU envoy Miroslav Lajčák in Brussels.
“On the agenda is the urgent need to begin implementing the Ohrid agreement and the need for both parties to finally be able to agree on progress in the dialogue,” said European Union spokesperson Peter Stano.
Kosovo has faced criticism from Western diplomacy for what are described as unilateral and uncoordinated actions in the north, where authorities closed the parallel Serbian municipalities appointed by Belgrade, which Pristina deems illegal.
Kosovo’s authorities announced today that they will shut down all parallel Serbian institutions operating in the country.
“There is no space in Kosovo for any parallel state institution. They will all be shut down. We may now discuss why this one has been closed and not the other, but all I can say is that all of them will be closed. Of course, we will not go about with publicity on where and when they will be closed, but they will all be shut down, and very soon,” said the Minister of Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi.
The European Union, as well as the United States, have called on both parties to resolve the outstanding issues within the framework of the Brussels talks.
Besar Gërgi, an analyst from the Group for Legal and Political Studies, told Voice of America that nothing significant is expected to happen at Thursday’s meeting between the chief negotiators.
“After the Ohrid agreement, there have been many such meetings, but no results have been achieved. With the same method, it is clear that there will be no different outcomes. What we can expect is to wait for new actors to take over, whether in Brussels or the United States, or wait for the results of Kosovo’s elections, which will be held in February, and then perhaps, with the reconfiguration of political forces, there could be new momentum in the dialogue between our country and Serbia,” Gërgi said.
He did not rule out the possibility of a new agreement between Kosovo and Serbia if the U.S. administration changes.
“The agreement between Kosovo and Serbia is, in a way, somewhat peculiar because it exists on paper, but in practice, it does not, as it is not being implemented by either party. Serbia has made it clear, both in writing and verbally, that it will not honor its part on de facto recognition of Kosovo, and seeing this, Kosovo has also made it clear that it will not fulfill the part regarding the establishment of the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities. Therefore, it would not be surprising if a new administration came to power in the United States, especially if Donald Trump is elected president, pushing forward a new agreement between the countries, but one with different obligations for both parties,” Gërgi stated.
Kosovo and Serbia have been engaged in 13 years of talks to normalize relations, with little progress, and the agreement reached last year has yet to be implemented.
