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| Above from the left: Albin Kurti, and Aleksandar Vučić; down from the left: Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, and Giorgia Meloni, (photoshop montage) |
On Friday, European leaders urged Kosovo to initiate the process of establishing the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities, while also calling on Serbia to recognize the de facto statehood of Kosovo. This joint call came in the form of a statement from French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which was published on Friday.
The statement follows separate meetings with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, in Brussels, which included the participation of Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Miroslav Lajčak, the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue.
The joint statement emphasized that the European project statute on the Association "includes a modern way to address the sensitive issue of minority protection in accordance with the best European practices and standards, within the parameters agreed upon by the parties."
The leaders underlined their expectation that the parties fulfill their commitments for the implementation of the Agreement on the normalization of relations. The focus should now be on the advancement of the full implementation of the agreement without preconditions or delays.
Moreover, the European leaders urged Kosovo to "initiate the procedure for the establishment of the Association, as envisaged in the project statute, and Serbia to recognize de facto (Kosovo)."
The statement reminded both parties that without progress in the normalization of relations, they risk missing important opportunities.
The meetings in Brussels were part of Western efforts to advance the implementation of the agreement reached earlier this year in Brussels and Ohrid. Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, expressed his willingness to sign the Western proposal for the Association and accused the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, of refusing it. Meanwhile, Vučić stated that Serbia is prepared to implement the Association "in line with the proposal received on October 21" but emphasized that Serbia could not accept Kosovo's membership in the United Nations, Kosovo's independence, and Kosovo's territorial integrity during negotiations on October 26.