The Council of the EU appointed former Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák as EU Special Representative for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and other regional issues in the Western Balkans on Friday 3 April.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs had announced in mid-February his intention to appoint a representative for dialogue (see EUROPE 12431/5) and the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, had confirmed the name of Miroslav Lajčák for this post at the end of February (see EUROPE 12435/29).
"The tasks of the new EU Special Representative will be to achieve a comprehensive normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, to improve good neighbourly relations and to facilitate reconciliation between the partners in the Western Balkans by helping them to overcome the legacy of the past", the EU Council explained in its press communiqué.
Speaking to the press, the High Representative said that Mr Lajčák should help him to relaunch the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and that the EU should be able to resolve this problem in its immediate neighbourhood.
The Special Representative will also be expected to contribute to the coherence and effectiveness of EU action in the Western Balkans and to work actively to enhance the effectiveness and visibility of the Union in the Western Balkans, according to the legal act related to this appointment.
Mr Lajčák's term of office will expire on 31 March, 2021. €1.2 million have been allocated to his mission.
Although Mr Lajčák knows the Western Balkans region very well, rumours about his appointment had upset Pristina, as Slovakia is one of the five EU Member States that do not recognise Kosovo's independence.
See the legal act: https://bit.ly/2w7yESC (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)