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Viola von Cramon appeals to Kosovo: Make progress in the dialogue with Serbia

2024-01-15 14:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Viola von Cramon

The rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Viola von Cramon, called on the leadership in Kosovo to make progress in the dialogue with Serbia, including in the formation of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, before the European bloc holds elections on June 9.

During a conference in Pristina after a several-day visit to Kosovo, von Cramon expressed concern about the support that Kosovo may have in the European Parliament after the June elections. She said that polls have shown an increase in Europe of right-wing parties, especially the extreme right.

"I think that a new composition of the European Parliament can have an effect in relation to Kosovo and other states that could potentially be candidate states for EU membership," said the European legislator.

According to von Cramon, there has been progress in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the EU. But, she said that last year "a big mistake" was made, since the parties were not asked to sign the Agreement on the road to normalization, nor the Annex for its implementation.

Despite international pressure for the parties to implement the agreement, the European bloc has said that it is not being implemented.

The agreement on normalization, of 11 articles, provides, among other things, a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo and mutual recognition of state symbols, while it asks Prishtina and Belgrade to also implement all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.

The Basic Agreement reached in February last year in Brussels, and then the Annex for its implementation that was reached in March in Ohrid, were not signed. However, the EU has said that the agreement is legally binding for the parties.

"I think that last year a mistake was made regarding the Ohrid Agreement, not insisting on the signing of the [Basic] Agreement and the [implementation] Annex from both sides. I think this was a big mistake. I think that if we delay the process we may have problems, because we have the elections in the EU in the summer and then some individuals who do not support Kosovo very much may come into power. Then we have Gaza, Ukraine, Taiwan, different things, different problems, and I'm worried that at the end of the day, nobody cares about dialogue," von Cramon said.

The MEP said that the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority is a legitimate request, adding that Kosovo should come up with a proposal for its formation and ratify the agreement for this.

Kosovo and Serbia have reached agreement on the Association in 2013, and then in 2015 on the principles for its establishment.

In 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the agreement is not in full harmony with the Constitution.

Serbia demands that Kosovo implement the agreements reached, but the Government of Kosovo has declared against a mono-ethnic association.

In October 2023, the representatives of the EU, USA, Germany, France and Italy presented the draft statute for the formation of the Association to the parties, Kosovo and Serbia, which the Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vu?i?, they accepted it in principle./REL