The Council of the European Union (EU) announced today that it has appointed Danish diplomat Peter Sorensen as the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, who is expected to contribute to the comprehensive normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
The task of Sorensen, who succeeds Miroslav Lajčak in this position, will be "to facilitate a dialogue that will contribute to the comprehensive normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, in particular the implementation of the Agreement on the Road to Normalization and its Implementation Annex, the EU Council stated.
The statement added that the Agreement on the Path to Normalization between Kosovo and Serbia and its Implementation Annex were "adopted" in February and March 2023 in Brussels and Ohrid.
The European Union has been claiming for almost two years that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić verbally agreed to the Agreement and the Implementation Annex and that they are therefore legally binding on Belgrade. Vučić, however, did not want to sign the documents, as demanded by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
The EU Council stated that Sorensen will take office on February 1st and that his first term will last 13 months.
Sorensen was nominated for the post by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kalas. Ambassadors from EU member states on Friday supported Sorensen's appointment as successor to Lajčák, who has held the position for almost five years.
Sorensen is a Danish diplomat with extensive experience, which includes engagement in the Western Balkans, the EU Council said in a statement.
From 2011 to 2014, he was Special Representative and Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was also EU Ambassador and Head of Delegation in Skopje and Head of the EU Delegation in Geneva. In that Swiss city, he represented the EU at the United Nations and was also the Union's representative at the UN Human Rights Council.
Sorensen was also the EU High Representative's envoy to Serbia and an advisor to the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). He also worked at the OSCE Mission in Croatia.
The Council states that the Union's special representatives promote the policies and interests of the 27-nation bloc in specific regions and countries, as well as issues of particular interest to the EU. They play an active role in efforts to consolidate reforms, stability and the rule of law.
The first special representatives of the Union were appointed in 1996, and currently 11 of them assist the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, in her work, it added.
The EU-mediated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, which began in 2011, has been stalled for months. There has been no significant progress since the two sides agreed on the Roadmap to Normalization in 2023.
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