EC Report: Kosovo to establish Association of Serb municipalities, final agreement with Serbia is urgent

English

Gazeta Express

19/10/2021 18:13

Kosovo and Serbia marked no progress in the dialogue, the European Commission concluded in its 2021 Country Report on Kosovo. The report which was published Tuesday mentions establishment of the Association of Serb majority Municipalities and reaching of the final agreement with Serbia, Gazeta Express reports.  

The Report mentions that the initial progress on the agreement had been made in 2020, when the parties agreed to provisionally close the issues of missing persons, displaced persons and economic cooperation and start negotiations on property and financial claims. The new Kosovo government is encouraged to engage constructively and resume the negotiations on the comprehensive normalisation agreement with Serbia.

“During the reporting period, no further progress was achieved in the negotiations on the comprehensive and legally-binding normalisation agreement. Initial progress on the agreement had been made in 2020, when the parties agreed to provisionally close the issues of missing persons, displaced persons and economic cooperation and start negotiations on property and financial claims. The new Kosovo government is encouraged to engage constructively and resume the negotiations on the comprehensive normalisation agreement,” it is written in the Report.

Further the EC in its Report says that following tensions in the north of Kosovo, an arrangement was reached in the EU-facilitated Dialogue on 30 September 2021 on de-escalation and a temporary measure for licence plate issues. “The Parties also agreed to establish a Working Group led by the EU, to find a permanent solution within 6 months based on EU standards and practices. The EU expects the Parties to engage constructively in this process to ensure freedom of movement for citizens,” according to the Report. When it comes to the state of play on implementation of past agreements ,during the reporting period, there has been no further progress on the implementation of the 25 August 2015 Agreements. No progress has been made on the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities and Kosovo has yet to engage constructively in its establishment,” according to the Report.

As regards the technical dialogue agreements (2011-2012), the EC in its report says that some are not or only partially being implemented and both parties are urged to remain committed to the continued implementation of the agreement on representation and participation of Kosovo in regional forums. “The implementation of the cadastre and university diplomas recognition agreements is still pending. The implementation of some elements of the agreement on freedom of movement, in particular related to license plates, are also pending. Serbia has yet to address the issue of re-located Serbian administrative customs structures with Kosovo denomination that operate from within Serbia, and to cease the issuance of documentation or affixing of stamps with denomination that contravenes the related agreement,” according to the report.

In the end Kosovo is indirectly criticised on the issue of visits of Serbian officials and “unilateral actions.” “Kosovo needs to respect the Arrangements for Official visits consistently,” according to the report.

“Overall, Kosovo has remained engaged in the dialogue. However, the Kosovo government needs to uphold its previous commitments and commit to the full implementation of past Dialogue agreements. Moving forward, Kosovo also needs to make further substantial efforts refraining from any unilateral actions and contributing to a conducive environment for the conclusion of a legally-binding normalisation agreement with Serbia, including in its international relations. Kosovo is expected to engage constructively in the negotiations on the legally-binding normalisation agreement in the coming period in order to make rapid and concrete progress. Reaching a comprehensive, legally-binding agreement is urgent and crucial so that Serbia and Kosovo can advance on their respective European paths,” according to the Report.