Brussels, 27/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - During her first visit to Pristina on Thursday 26 March, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini called on Kosovo to continue its reforms and dialogue with Serbia.
In an interview published in Serbian newspaper Koha Ditore, Mogherini states that “the focus is now on the reforms and the concrete measures that must be taken for Kosovo to move forwards”. “I'm speaking about economic, social and political reforms. I'm speaking about a full normalisation of relations with Serbia. These are the challenges that must be addressed without delay”, she said.
“We are convinced that working together on the country's economic development, on the rule of law, the dialogue itself, and the liberalisation of visas (…) is a beneficial exercise for us all”, Mogherini said at the end of her meeting with Kosovo's Prime Minister Isa Mustafa.
Mogherini also spoke about the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, which she described during a conference as a dialogue “between two sovereign states”. Five EU countries do not recognise Kosovo's independence (Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Slovakia). While concrete progress has been made, “of course more remains to be done, particularly on the full implementation of the agreements concluded until now, by the two parties”, Mogherini said. “Continuing the dialogue is more important than ever”, she stated in Koha Ditore. During her press conference, she said she was especially “happy and proud” that the day before her visit implementation of the justice agreement had begun “with a very positive step”.
According to Balkan media, Mogherini also stated that Kosovo should be able to sign its stabilisation and association agreement with the EU over the summer. Elsewhere on 25 March, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and Mustafa inaugurated Pristina's law court. The court cost €30 million and was co-financed by the EU for up to €26.1 million as part of the infrastructure update in the area of the rule of law. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)