Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was not willing to take another step towards normalizing relations with Serbia, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, commenting on the negotiations between Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic conducted on Thursday under the auspices of the European Union. Pristina on Friday accused Brussels of favoring Belgrade.
Head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell reported that representatives of Kosovo and Serbia presented contradictory positions: Kosovo wants to first “end the political aspect of normalization of relations”, and Serbia wants to establish a Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo.
– That is why we proposed the only possible solution to the situation, i.e. continuing both processes simultaneously – said the EU foreign policy chief.
Belgrade for the creation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities
The Community of Serbian Municipalities is to be an autonomous unit consisting of 10 municipalities inhabited mainly by the Serb population, and responsible for “economic development, education, health and issues related to (spatial) planning in cities and villages.”
The creation of the Community was one of the provisions of the Brussels Agreement concluded between Belgrade and Pristina in 2013, but it did not enter into force because Constitutional Court In 2015, Kosovo described this part of the agreement as unconstitutional.
Apart from Belgrade and the Serbs living in Kosovo, those involved in the dialogue between the EU and the US are demanding the creation of a Community.
Prime Minister Kurti said after Thursday’s conversation with Vucic, Borrell and the EU’s special envoy for the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, Miroslav Lajczak, that he does not agree to the creation of the Community being a precondition for the implementation of the agreement on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Accusations of favoritism against Serbia
The head of Kosovo’s parliament, Glauk Konjufca, said on Friday that “not all proposals can be accepted and analyzes are still ongoing regarding their benefits for Kosovo.” – We will not allow the “Bosniatization” of Kosovo – he said, referring to the extensive powers of Republika Srpska, one of the autonomous entities Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Konjufca also accused the EU of “favoring Serbia’s position.” – The requirements set by Belgrade become the requirements of Brussels – he noted.
President Vucic described the meeting with Prime Minister Kurti as “fruitless”. “We accepted the compromise proposed by the EU; if we saw progress in forming the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo, we would do what we committed to. However, the other side does not agree to this,” Vucic pointed out.
The latest increase in tensions in the Serb-majority areas of northern Kosovo occurred at the end of May, when Serbs opposed Albanian politicians elected in the Serb-boycotted cities taking over as mayors of majority-Serb cities. elections local.
Serbia lost control over Kosovo after the NATO military campaign in 1999 and refuses to recognize the independence of its former province announced in 2008.
Main photo source: Shutterstock