Germany: Normalization between Kosovo and Serbia means mutual recognition

2024-06-14 10:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The German ambassador in Pristina, Jorn Rohde, reiterated Germany's position that the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia should be concluded with mutual recognition.

"As a reminder: Read Chancellor Olaf Scholz's clear statement during his visit to Kosovo and Serbia in June 2022, on normalization, including bilateral recognition," Rohde wrote on the "X" social network late Thursday.

He said that "this still applies", adding that the road is already open for Kosovo and Serbia through the "immediate" implementation of the agreements reached in 2023 for the normalization of neighboring relations.

His statement came shortly after the American ambassador in Belgrade, Christopher Hill, in an interview for the June 13 edition of the weekly "NIN" from Belgrade, said that the formal recognition of Kosovo will not be a condition for Serbia's entry into the European Union ( EU).

Earlier on Thursday, EU spokesman Peter Stano told Radio Free Europe that Serbia cannot become a member of the European Union without normalizing its relations with Kosovo.

"The Ohrid Agreement currently makes this very clear: If there is no progress on normalization, there will be no progress on membership negotiations," he said.

Under the mediation of the EU, Kosovo and Serbia in 2023 reached the Agreement towards the normalization of relations. It later became known as the Ohrid Agreement, but this too has remained largely unimplemented.

The European Union, however, has not made it clear whether formal recognition of Kosovo will be a condition for Serbia to join the European Union, and Stano reiterated that "the bloc's position on this issue remains unchanged."

Since Kosovo declared its independence, 15 years ago, the European Union has repeatedly stated that the issue of Kosovo's recognition is a matter within the competence of the EU member states and, as a European bloc, has maintained a neutral position towards the status of Kosovo. .

But, on the other hand, Kosovo has special contractual relations with the European Union, through the Stabilization and Association Agreement, while the territory of Kosovo is not included in the negotiation process of Serbia's membership in the EU.

The EU has always insisted on using the full normalization of relations with Kosovo as a condition for Serbia. The EU has left it to the parties to interpret whether "full normalization" means formal recognition of Kosovo by Serbia.

An EU official, recalling the changes in the framework of Serbia's EU membership negotiations, where chapter 35 includes as a condition the normalization of relations with Kosovo, said that without this normalization, Serbia cannot become a member of the EU./ REL