On Friday 24 February, a senior EU official told a group of journalists, including EUROPE, that the EU was hoping for an agreement from the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on the EU’s proposal to normalise relations between Belgrade and Pristina, when they meet on Monday 27 February in Brussels with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell (see EUROPE 13124/23).
“We expect the endorsement of this proposal” by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the senior official explained. “The signals are positive, in principle. Now we need to hear clearly that they accept it”, he added. According to this senior official, the proposal is the maximum that can be achieved “realistically”, and it will not be easy for the two leaders to accept.
The senior official added that the aim was not to discuss the document itself with the leaders - several discussions having already taken place. Discussions may be held on the implementation of the proposal, which is annexed to the document.
“We want to start implementing (the proposal) swiftly”, warned the senior official, who hoped for implementation in the coming months. “We want to keep a reasonable timetable”, he explained.
Implementation will be the most complex part, as agreements made in 2013 are still not in place on the ground. For this senior official, the most delicate issue remains the association of Serbian municipalities.
“You have heard, and some of you have written, that this paper is about de facto recognition, and it is”, he also told reporters, adding that the document contained a lot of substance that “would greatly relax the atmosphere and remove so many of these obstacles” in the normalisation of relations.
He said the proposal was a “basic agreement very close to this comprehensive legally binding agreement between Kosovo and Serbia ” that would normalise their relations.
The proposal has been welcomed by all 27 EU Member States (see EUROPE 13118/5) and is supported by the US. Russia, for its part, has pressured Serbia not to accept the proposal, arguing that it is not the right time. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)