While many political analysts believe that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has lost its direction and is “clinically dead,” the Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Aivo Orav, holds a different view.
In an interview with RTK, Ambassador Orav emphasized that the dialogue cannot be considered dead, despite the challenges and deadlocks it has faced over the years.
“In a way, it is neither clinically nor otherwise dead. This is an important step, or rather a process between Serbia and Kosovo that started back in 2013, under the facilitation of the European Union, at that time by Lady Ashton. It has continued, yes, with some positive moments, maybe also some negative moments, but to say that it is clinically dead, absolutely not. The dialogue is very much alive, and some of the best examples of this are Peter Sorensen, who was here, and who will come again, as well as under the leadership of the High Representative (Kaja Kallas), who I hope will come soon,” Orav stated, as reported by RTKlive.
He expressed high expectations for the impact that Sorensen’s engagement in the dialogue and Kosovo’s international relations will have.
“I believe that usually what happens is that when new people take over the work, they certainly bring new energy and enthusiasm, and I believe this will happen with Mr. Peter Sorensen. He was here a few days ago and also in Belgrade, where he was asking questions, and I hope he will return with some kind of proposal. Meanwhile, the dialogue, or better to say, the normalization process, is extremely important for both sides, Kosovo and Serbia, because I cannot imagine how either Kosovo or Serbia could join the European Union without normalizing their relations,” Orav added.
The European Union’s financial assistance to Kosovo is closely linked to the dialogue process and the implementation of the agreements that the parties have reached. However, Orav stated that the dialogue is a condition for the integration of both countries into the EU.
“The European Union is the goal for both, Serbia and Kosovo. The dialogue is a condition, or a prerequisite, while our financial aid, or money, is simply a tool to help, to assist in carrying out reforms and to help the parties prepare for EU membership,” emphasized Ambassador Orav.
In this context, he mentioned the EU’s Growth Plan, a program with a significant fund to support the Western Balkan countries in implementing reforms and helping them move towards integration into the European Union. According to Orav, although some countries in the region have already benefited from this plan, Kosovo has not yet received financial assistance due to the lack of ratification by the Kosovo Assembly.
“Kosovo has not yet benefited. There is no other problem except that the Assembly has not been constituted. Whenever it is constituted, the Assembly should ratify the loan agreement. That is why the money has not come yet from this Growth Plan,” Orav said.
As for the measures against Kosovo, he mentioned Peter Sorensen, who was here, and the fact that during his three-day meetings, he heard from Kosovo’s counterparts, whether from the government, opposition, or business leaders and NGOs, regarding the situation with the measures, and the expectations that the European Union will lift these measures as soon as possible.
“So, he has taken this message with him to Brussels now,” said the EU Head of Mission.
He also highlighted that the issue of missing persons is one of the priorities in the dialogue and praised the agreement between the chief negotiators of Serbia and Kosovo last December to form a joint commission for missing persons.
“Now, we must take this work forward. Here, in Kosovo, our colleagues from EULEX are working very closely with their counterparts in the Kosovo Institute for Forensic Medicine, while our EU Office here is doing its best to ensure that the voices of those families who have missing persons, their relatives, are heard clearly, and I want to do everything possible to ensure that this Institute has all the resources to carry out this work. It has been a huge problem for more than 1,600 families who have missing relatives, and they have the right to know the truth, what happened, why, and how, so they can move forward. This is one of the positive examples of what can be achieved through dialogue,” Orav declared in his interview with RTK2, as reported by RTKlive.
He expressed hope that there will be no delays in the formation of Kosovo’s new government after the certification of the February 9 elections.
“For us, it is important that this government be stable, be a good partner for us, to fulfill its promises, and to get the work done because it is the only way forward towards the European Union,” said the Head of the EU Office.
Speaking about the closure of parallel institutions operating under the system of the Republic of Serbia and whether this issue can be discussed in the dialogue, Orav stated that the institutions led by Serbia in Kosovo are clearly an issue for dialogue.
“We have emphasized this many times in our conversations with local politicians, but we have also said it publicly several times. We certainly know how much this issue affects people in the region in question. Meanwhile, there are many agreements, many requests, for which both governments have agreed, so both sides must fulfill what they have agreed. Here, regarding the Serbian side, I would like to emphasize that Serbia has promised not to obstruct Kosovo’s entry into international organizations, and here I am primarily talking about the Council of Europe,” Orav concluded.
