TIRANA, February 28 – The spokesperson of the European Union, Peter Stano, has said that the objective of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is not recognition. He declared that in the regular press conference on Tuesday when asked by a journalist whether the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia for the normalization of relations contains recognition.
Stano stated that the EU’s objective is to reach a comprehensive final agreement. But he confirmed that the two leaders approved on Monday the EU’s proposal for the normalization of relations.
“What was agreed at the meeting is that there is no need for further discussions on the content, on the text of the proposal and that we will work with the parties on implementation. Of course, we as the EU will help them. We will continue our relief efforts. They approved the proposal. They agreed that there is no need for further discussions about the document and that we can move on to the next phase,” Stano said at the press conference.
On Monday, February 27, the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, met in Brussels to discuss the EU proposal.
At the end of the meeting, only the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, spoke in favor of the plan, while Vucic – avoiding statements about the plan – said that it is possible to reach some compromises and they are working on the implementation of existing agreements.
The chief diplomat of the EU, Josep Borell, the organizer of the leaders’ meeting, said on Monday evening that both sides expressed their willingness to continue implementing the agreement.
The spokesman for Brussels, Peter Stano, has reiterated that further discussions on the European document are no longer necessary, and that the modalities of the implementation of the agreement are now being worked on.
The European proposal has been submitted to the parties initially in the autumn of 2022.
This proposal is intended to lead the parties to a comprehensive agreement.
The proposal-agreement that was made public after the meeting includes the commitment of the parties to respect all the agreements reached so far in the dialogue for the normalization of relations, as well as their commitment not to hinder each other in the integration processes.
The agreements so far include the one for the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo, which was reached in 2013, but has never been implemented.
Kurti says that in Kosovo there cannot be a single-ethnic association with executive powers, while Vucic insists on its establishment. /Argumentum.al
