Brussels, 10/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 9 July, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton announced that a further meeting would take place “before the end of July” as part of the dialogue on normalising relations between Serbia and Kosovo. The previous day, Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dacic was speaking about 24 July (see EUROPE 10884). “There will be no summer break for everyone because it is important to show the progress that we want to see if people's lives are going to get better, and quickly”, Ashton said after a meeting with the Serb leaders in Belgrade.
Stating that the main thing to do is implement the agreement, Ashton said that “as you would expect, the technical work that needs to go to translate political decision into practical action is not easy”. In her view, through the technical work, “there will be issues that still need to be resolved”. It is also necessary to continue talking about “issues that are of enormous importance” for Belgrade and Pristina, and “to see where we would take that in the future”. This must be an ongoing process “but the process is about ensuring that we support people to a better life”, Ashton added.
Dacic stated that Serbia and Kosovo are due to resume the dialogue on all the issues of concern - including the issue of public and private assets, cultural heritage, church assets, and the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church - according to a government press release. He said that continuing the dialogue does not mean that the agreement is heading in the direction of a legally binding document or the recognition of Kosovo.
Ashton hails preparatory work for opening of negotiations. Ashton also welcomed the fact that Serbia has already started preparatory work for the beginning of accession negotiations. “This takes time. It is a difficult process (…) and it is really good to see that Serbia is getting ready and will be carefully prepared”, she said, adding that the EU has also started working to prepare the negotiations as part of the accession negotiation, which needs time. Ashton recalled that the European Council's decision to open accession negotiations (see EUROPE 10877) came “without new conditions”. (CG/transl.fl)