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EU: Kosovo and Serbia to implement the Basic Agreement

2024-03-29 18:41:09, Kosova & Bota CNA

The European Union (EU) has reiterated on Friday that the decisions in the Council of Europe are not related to the bloc directly, as it is another independent European organization, therefore it has called on Kosovo and Serbia to implement the obligations from the Agreement on normalization of relations, for which they agreed last year.

Asked by Radio Free Europe whether Serbia violated the agreement when it voted against the rapporteur's report on Kosovo at the Council of Europe's Committee on Politics and Democracy this week, EU spokesman Peter Stano said the bloc expects the implementation of all points of the Agreement without taking into account the actions in the Council of Europe.

"Regardless of these actions in the Council of Europe, when it comes to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the EU continues to expect that all parts of the Agreement from 2023 on the road to normalization will be implemented quickly, in good faith and independently from each other, as the parties had agreed with the implementation annex in Ohrid", said Stano.

Kosovo and Serbia reached the Basic Agreement in February 2023 in Brussels, while on March 18 in Ohrid, they agreed on the Annex for the implementation of this agreement.

And, according to Article 4 of the February Agreement, Serbia should not oppose Kosovo's membership in any international organization.

Asked about this article, Stano did not answer directly, but repeated that, as stated in the Ohrid Annex for the implementation of the Agreement, all points must be implemented independently of each other.

"The Council of Europe plays a central role in promoting fundamental European values ??and common standards, including human rights and the protection of minorities. It is up to the member states of the Council of Europe to decide on issues related to this organization, including membership," he added.

In particular, he mentioned the obligation to establish the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo.

"This also includes the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo, which is the most concrete way to ensure the protection of the Serbian community in Kosovo", he added.

Stano accused both parties of not implementing the Agreement on the normalization of relations.

"It is regrettable that, despite the efforts of the EU and the wider international community, until now the progress in the implementation of the obligations from this agreement has been very limited, both from Kosovo and from Serbia", he emphasized. Wait.

On March 27, the Committee for Politics and Democracy of the Council of Europe approved the report of the rapporteur for Kosovo, Dora Bakoyannis, where it was recommended that the country has fulfilled the conditions to become a full member of the Council of Europe.

The report was approved with 31 votes in favor, four against and one abstention.

Two deputies from Serbia, one from Montenegro and one from Bosnia and Herzegovina voted against.

The Parliamentary Assembly is expected to vote on Kosovo's membership in April, and if it gives the green light, then the Council of Europe's Council of Ministers must give the final word in May./ REL