The new round of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, here is when the meeting between Kurti and Vucic is expected

A new round of the Kosovo-Serbia high-level political dialogue takes place on Wednesday (26.06) in Brussels, mediated by the European Union, aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries. The EU has announced that Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandër Vucic, have confirmed their participation. After a long period of stalemate and extremely tense Kosovo-Serbia relations, the meeting between the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, is mediated by the outgoing head of the EU's foreign policy, Josep Borrell, and the person in charge also leaving the EU for the dialogue Miroslav Lajçak.

"The High Representative and the EU Special Representative for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, will hold separate meetings with the leaders, followed by a joint tripartite meeting. The meetings will analyze what has been achieved in the dialogue under the leadership of the High Representative and will focus on the way forward," said the announcement of Josep Borrell's office.

The last Kurti-Vucic meeting was a year ago

Meanwhile, according to the office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, the main focus of the meeting will be the implementation of the Agreement on the way to the normalization of relations, the Annex for its implementation and the way forward. Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic met for the last time on September 14, 2023, where they discussed the implementation of the agreement on the way to the normalization of relations. The meeting on June 26 of this year was agreed upon after the visit to Pristina and Belgrade of the dialogue envoy Miroslav Lajçak. The latter said after the visit to Kosovo that, "we have an agreement, which we must speed up its implementation. This was the first topic we discussed, and the second point for the EU Plan for Economic Growth".

The EU plan envisages the allocation of a fund of six billion euros for the countries of the Western Balkans for the period 2024-2027, in order to accelerate the European integration of this region. According to emissary Miroslav Lajçak, as the person responsible for evaluating the progress in the dialogue, "in order to gain access to these funds, Kosovo and Serbia have a prerequisite of constructive engagement in the Brussels dialogue".

The Kosovo-Serbia agreement is binding on both parties

The Kosovo-Serbia agreement for the normalization of relations, which was reached last year, has not been signed by the parties, but EU officials have repeatedly reiterated that this agreement is legally binding for Kosovo and Serbia. The agreement of 11 articles, among other things, foresees a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo and mutual recognition of state symbols.

However, the new Kosovo-Serbia high-level political meeting is held at the time when the mandate of European officials expires, after a five-year period as a mediator in the dialogue process with the aim of normalizing Kosovo-Serbia relations. The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell will serve in this post until autumn. Meanwhile, it will soon be known who will be Miroslav Lajcak's successor as dialogue mediator, since Lajcak has already been appointed EU ambassador in Switzerland, although he will act as a mediator in the dialogue until the EU structures to find his replacement./DW/