Serbia outlined four requests, in order to continue the dialogue process with Kosovo in Brussels.
The intervention of police forces in northern Kosovo to implement the “reciprocity of temporary license plates” stirred severe reactions in Serbia. President Aleksandar Vucic made a bold statement, announcing that talks with Kosovo will be suspended.
It appears that the central issue is the reciprocity of the license plates, and if not repealed, talks are at a dead end.
“We told them, no problem, revoke the decision and we will talk. What did Serbia do? Did it send the army or the police? No! This time, Serbia didn’t do anything. Everybody is worried about a strong Serbia. They want Serbia to recognize them. I will not adjust to their requests. I repeat this. Restore everything to how it was before September 20, then maybe we talk”, Vucic said.
Local paper “Novosti”, with the Serbian government being one of its biggest shareholders, listed four requests posed by Belgrade to continue the dialogue process.
According to the Novosti, “these are not new demands or blackmail”, but “demands that arise from signed agreements”, which Prishtina “has been obstructing or refusing to fulfill for years”.
- Formation of Community of Serbian Municipalities (CSMs)
Novosti notes that Kosovo did not fulfill its obligation to form the community of Serb majority municipalities, although it was ratified by the parliament in 2013.
The Constitutional Court of Kosovo has currently suspended 22 out of the 23 points from the agreement on the establishment of the Association. Novosti claims that Kosovo’s top court is trying to make the association resemble more to a non-governmental organization, something that is “unacceptable’ for Belgrade” and “doesn’t comply with the Brussels agreement”.
- Permission to deploy Special Forces
Novosti says that according to what was agreed in Brussels, Kosovo cannot deploy armed forces – including the police – in the north without the permission of KFOR or the consent of the Serb community.
In the last couple of years, Kosovo has introduced its objective to transform the Special Forces into an army, which according to Serbia runs counter international law and previously signed agreements.
3- Licensing two Serbian companies in the field of energy
Serbia wants Kosovo to license two Serbian power companies – Elektrosever and EPS Trgovine – with Novosti writing that it had been agreed during talks in Brussels in 2013.
Belgrade claims that the two companies will provide power supply to the Serb community in northern Kosovo, but the latter refused to certify them.
- Dropping charges against Serbian MP Ivan Todosijevic
Serbia refuses the prison sentence handed to its MP Ivan Todosijevic. Belgrade urged Prishtina to nullify the verdict based on claims that it is “unfair” and it might set a dangerous precedent for a “hunt for Serbs”.
Todosijevic was sentenced to two years in prison for denying the Recak Massacre and declaring that it “was fabricated by Albanians”.
