The normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia remains crucial on the European path of both countries, and failure to do so could lead to both countries losing significant EU opportunities.
This is pointed out in the chapter on the normalization of relations between the two countries, in the European Commission’s Progress Report, which was made public and submitted to the Government on 30 October 2024.
The annual report states that this year’s assault in Banjska is the “most severe escalation in recent years”.
“The normalization process continues to be affected by Serbia’s insufficient steps to ensure accountability for the violent attack by armed Serbian assailants on the Kosovo Police on 24 September 2023 in Banjska”- the report states.
The Progress Report is an instrument by which the European Commission measures a country’s progress in meeting the European agenda within the calendar year.
The report highlights a number of issues that have marked the past year and not only in terms of relations between the two countries, which have further damaged relations between the Government and the Serbian community in Kosovo.
Among them are also the tensions in northern Kosovo, which are said to have continued as a result of the violent attack by armed Serbian assailants on the Kosovo Police on 24 September 2023.
Other crises are said to have been caused by issues related to the expropriation of land in the north by the Government; the adoption of a regulation by the Central Bank on cash transactions, which had a negative impact on the Serbs of Kosovo and other minority communities; police operations to close the offices of institutions directed by Belgrade, which provided assistance to minority communities; as well as the ongoing ban on importing goods of Serbian origin.
Although some progress is evident, relations remain tense.
“Notable achievements include the historic agreements reached in February and March 2023, preparatory steps in the establishment of the Association/Community of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo, advances in the energy sector and commitments to address the issue of unpaid persons” – the report states.
Among other things, it is stated that Kosovo has pledged to fully implement all its obligations arising from the Agreement on the Path to Normalization and its Implementation Annex, as well as from all previous agreements.
“Kosovo should implement the Agreement on the Path to Normalization and its Annex and all previous agreements without delay or further conditions” – the Report states.
Meanwhile, in the Progress Report for Serbia, it is written that “The Agreement is valid and legally binding for the parties and all formalities, including its approval/formalization, should not hinder progress in its implementation”.
“Both Kosovo and Serbia are expected to implement their respective obligations arising from the Agreement on the path to normalization. This includes the establishment of the Association/Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority” – the Report states.
It is stated that Kosovo is expected to start the process leading to the creation of the Association based on the European proposal presented to the parties on 21 October 2023. Meanwhile, Serbia is expected to start fulfilling its obligations under the Agreement, while initiating the recognition of Kosovo’s documents and symbols.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti says that the three conditions he set in the last dialogue meeting in Brussels are the ones that guarantee the normalization process with Serbia.
For Kurti, without the surrender of Milan Radoicic and his group, who carried out the armed attack in Banjska, Zvecan, there can be no trust in the dialogue mediated by the European Union. The other two conditions set by Kurti, which he calls peaceful, are the signing of the Agreement and the withdrawal of the letter of former Serbian Prime Minister, Ana Brnabic.
On the other hand, the measures presented by Vucic on September 13, 2024, are the announcement of new local elections in northern Kosovo, the return of Serbs to the Kosovo Police and judiciary, as well as the withdrawal of special units of the Kosovo Police from the northern region.
Meanwhile, as both are seeking different things, in Brussels, these months only the chief negotiators, Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic, have met.
Although they met for the first time in three months in a three-party meeting on 24 October 2024, the meeting between Bislimi and Petkovic, under the leadership of the EU’s special representative for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, did not yield results regarding the implementation of the basic agreement on the path to normalization of relations between the two countries.
In March 2024, it was a year since the Kosovo Prime Minister and the Serbian President agreed in Ohrid, North Macedonia, to implement the Basic Agreement Annex reached in Brussels in late February 2023.
The two leaders agreed that Kosovo and Serbia would develop normal good-neighborly relations with each other and, among other things, recognize each other’s relevant documents and national symbols, including passports, diplomats, car plates, and customs stamps.
The 11-point agreement also provides for a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo and mutual recognition of state symbols, while requiring Pristina and Belgrade to implement, as well, all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.
However, this agreement remains unimplemented.
Kosovo and Serbia have been in EU-facilitated talks on normalizing relations since 2011.
The process initially started on technical issues, to later move to the political level.
Although agreements have been signed, most of them have not been implemented, and the dialogue is seen as either “dead” or “in a coma”.
https://kallxo.com/gjate/dialogu-ne-kome/