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The EP approves the reports on Kosovo and Serbia

2023-05-10 13:38:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The EP approves the reports on Kosovo and Serbia

Illustrative photo

The European Parliament has approved two annual resolutions for Kosovo and Serbia, "through which both countries are invited to be constructive in the dialogue for the normalization of relations and this normalization should also include mutual recognition".

452 MPs voted for the report on Kosovo, 87 were against and 76 abstained.

These are the last annual reports for Kosovo and Serbia from the current composition of the European Parliament, since the European elections will be held at the end of May or the beginning of June of 2024.

The texts of the reports on Kosovo and Serbia had previously been approved in the Committee for Foreign Policy, while now some proposed amendments were added to them, which received the majority of votes of the European deputies.

The report on Kosovo repeats the invitation to the five EU states that do not recognize Kosovo's independence, to do so.

Spain, Greece, Romania, Cyprus and Slovakia still do not recognize Kosovo's independence.

In the text of the report, Kosovo's application for EU membership is also welcomed. There, also, the completion of the visa liberalization process for Kosovo is welcomed. All these orders are part of the proposed resolution and were also heard by many deputies during the debate that took place on Tuesday night in the plenary session of the Parliament.

The rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, who compiled the proposed text, expressed her satisfaction with the completion of the visa liberalization process.

"Since 2019, I have been compiling reports on Kosovo, constantly expressing the hope that free movement will be ensured. Now I can say that Europe finally opened its doors to Kosovo as well", she said during the debate.

In the Resolution for Serbia, regret was expressed for the non-adjustment of this country's positions in the EU's foreign policy, especially regarding the EU's sanctions against Russia.

During the debate on Serbia, there were many MPs who asked Belgrade to express itself clearly about its aspirations for integration into the EU and to prove this orientation by supporting the sanctions against Russia. It was heard from some MPs that Serbia is doing the opposite, that instead of increasing adaptation to EU positions in foreign policy, it is reducing it.

The Croatian MP, Zheljana Zovko, underlined that from the 65 percent it was last year, Serbia's adaptation to the foreign policy of the European bloc has fallen to 45 percent.

Regarding the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia - which is mediated by the EU - during the debate, the rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon requested that the parties implement all agreements and that the visa normalization process includes mutual recognition.

She also requested that the Serbs in the north of Kosovo return to the Kosovo institutions.

Serbs in the four municipalities in the north, inhabited by a majority of Serbs, left the institutions of Kosovo at the end of last year, as a sign of dissatisfaction with a decision of the Government of Kosovo that required the re-registration of cars bearing legal license plates of Kosovo Serbian illegal.

Lista Serbe - the main party of Serbs in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade - has said that a condition for the return of Serbs to institutions is the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, but also the withdrawal of special units of the Kosovo Police from the north of the state.

Otherwise, the resolutions of the European Parliament have a political importance, but they are not binding for the member countries./ Rel