The head of EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell, said that the implementation of the Kosovo-Serbia agreement will be supervised by a commission composed of both countries and the European Union. It is legally binding.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, informed the EU foreign ministers about the Ohrid agreement, which was reached between Kosovo and Serbia on March 18. According to Borrell, this is a great achievement and, as he said, “we will no longer be in a state of crisis, but in the implementation of the agreements previously reached on February 27 in Brussels”.
“These agreements come into force with the statement I issued. It was not signed for legal reasons, but both parties agreed that my statement is a commitment on their part to fully fulfill the obligations arising from this agreement and the implementation annex,” said Borrell.
The head of European diplomacy reiterated that official Pristina urgently needs the start of the formation of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.
“The calendar requires each party to do its part, the construction of the house does not start from the roof. Some of these things are very urgent, I have said that Kosovo must urgently dedicate itself to the formation of the Association. A number of commitments have been made and we will see how the parties will fulfill them”, said Borrell.
Ohrid Agreements
At the Ohrid meeting, which was held on March 18, under the mediation of the European chief diplomat, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Aleksandar Vučič agreed with the annex to the implementation of the Agreement towards the normalization of relations. The agreement, which was published by the European Union on February 27 in Brussels, has 11 articles, but does not specifically mention mutual recognition. However, the document requires both parties to accept each other’s documents and symbols, including passports, diplomas and license plates. The agreement also requires the parties to implement all the agreements reached so far in the dialogue for the normalization of relations, including the one for the formation of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo. The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, who does not like to call it an Association, says that Kosovo “will be guided by the highest standards so that the Serbs in Kosovo do not have any encroachment”.
“There is a paragraph which talks about an adequate level of self-management of the non-Serb majority community and of course we will be guided by the highest standards so that the Serbs in Kosovo do not have any encroachment, any discrimination”, said Prime Minister Kurti. after a meeting he held with the ambassadors of the QUINT countries in Pristina.
Increasing pressure
The USA is also putting pressure on Pristina and Belgrade officials to immediately start implementing the agreement. The American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, who was an observer at the Ohrid meeting, said that the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on the implementation of the agreement on the normalization of relations is historic, and the parties should immediately start implementing it. According to him, the agreement has legal obligations to fulfill. Prishtina must do its job, and Serbia must do this as well, he said, adding that Belgrade must start recognizing Kosovo’s documents and national symbols.
“It is important for Kosovo to start drafting its own version of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority. There are many other obligations, but I think these are the most important,” said Mr. Escobar, in a remote conference with journalists.
“We believe that it should be an (Association) that serves the interests of the people of the region, one that works for both sides, that allows ethnic Serbs to participate fully in the civil and democratic life of Kosovo. But it should also be an Association that does not violate the constitutional structure of Kosovo or affect its functionality”, said Gabriel Escobar. He made it clear that the reconciliation of Kosovo and Serbia in Ohrid for the implementation of the agreement is a legal obligation, although there were no signatures.
Implementation is a legal obligation
“I want to make it clear. This is a legal obligation to which Serbia has agreed, as has Kosovo. Talking about signing is focusing on something that has no bearing on the fact that we have an agreement. It is an agreement, we treat it as such, both parties entered into it seriously and the European Union confirmed that it is such in its eyes”, emphasized the American emissary Gabriel Escobar. On the other hand, the Foreign Minister of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, said that Serbia is ready to implement the agreement reached with Kosovo in Ohrid, but only up to its red lines.
The red lines of Serbia
“Our red lines, which we do not agree with, include mutual recognition: neither recognition of Kosovo nor membership of Kosovo in the United Nations”, said Dacic in Brussels, during a donor conference, after the earthquake that hit Turkey. According to him, the Ohrid agreement “is only in the direction of normalizing relations and nothing more than that”.
“I think it is a continuation of what we started about 10 years ago, and in this respect, it is very important to know that this is an agreement for further steps in the normalization of relations and not for status issues,” he said. Dacic.
However, the European plan for the normalization of relations, which Prishtina and Belgrade agreed on on February 27 in Brussels, while on March 18 they agreed on its implementation, requires good neighborly relations, recognition of documents and symbols and respect for sovereignty and integrity terrestrial. It requires that the parties do not hinder each other in the integration processes, but does not require mutual recognition. This is precisely why the opposition parties in Kosovo invited Prime Minister Kurti to the parliamentary session on Thursday to report on the agreement, which the opposition says will damage the integration processes of the country for a long period of time./DW
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