The head of European diplomacy, Jozep Borelj, said today in Brussels, after a new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, that without the normalization of relations, there will be no European future for either Kosovo or Serbia, and indicated that the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities (USO) is a key element in that process. .
After a joint meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti, Borelj told reporters that the European path of both sides depends on dialogue and that Kosovo and Serbia "risk falling behind while other partners from the region move towards Europe".
"This is particularly worrying at a time when the EU is clearly moving forward towards enlargement," Borelj said, stating that he would inform the EU members about the outcome of the meeting and decide on further steps.
He stated that today Kurti insisted on the factual recognition of Kosovo as the first step in the implementation of the Agreement on the Road to the Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and that Vučić accepted the compromise proposal of the EU, and added that, despite great effort, "it was not possible to overcome the differences". .
Borelj said that six months after the agreement between Vučić and Kurti in Ohrid, "the implementation of the most important points" of the Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia has not yet begun, and he assessed it as "very regrettable".
"This speaks of the lack of real commitment of the parties to the normalization of relations. Each side is evaluated on its own merits, and the absence of actions by both sides means that both Serbia and Kosovo are in direct and serious violation of the obligations assumed in the dialogue," said the Spanish diplomat.
He stated that the Management Team presented the draft Statute of the ZSO in May and that "nothing else has happened" for more than four months, although the formation of the ZSO is "an old obligation for the parties that has always been a key element in the process of normalizing relations".
Borelj said that he and the EU's special representative for the Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajčak, presented to Vučić and Kurti today what the process of implementing the Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations might look like.
"The parties started from opposite positions. Prime Minister Kurti wanted us to deal with the political aspects of the normalization of relations first, and Serbia wanted to start forming the ZSO before fulfilling its obligations. That's why we proposed the only possible compromise, that the two processes take place in parallel," he said. is Borelj.
He stated that, after a rather long meeting, Kurti "wasn't ready to move forward" and start a "credible process that would lead to the formation of the ZSO", but instead "insisted on the factual recognition of Kosovo as the first step".
Borelj said that today there was no progress regarding the escalation of tensions in the north of Kosovo, recalling that in June all 27 EU members asked for concrete steps to be taken to resolve the crisis.
"Today, we again call on both sides to immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation, avoid further destabilization and enable local elections to be held in the north of Kosovo. This must be done immediately," Borelj said.
Regarding the two options for holding extraordinary local elections in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo, submitting the mayor's resignation and collecting citizens' signatures for their recall, Borelj said that the EU considers the first option the "fastest and best way" to announce elections.
"Collecting signatures is a long and uncertain process. Kosovo Serbs are expected to show constructiveness and to engage unconditionally in the election process. They must participate or the whole process is meaningless. I received assurances from President Vučić in this regard," he said. Borel.
He added that "the risk of a new escalation will continue to hover over the normalization process" if there is no progress on holding new elections in the north of Kosovo, since the April ones were boycotted by the Serbs.
Bonus video:
