The spokesperson of the European Union, Peter Stano, said on Tuesday that Kosovo must urgently implement the longstanding obligation to establish an Association of Serb-majority municipalities in the country and warned that it will face consequences on its path towards the EU if it fails to do so.
He said that the establishment of the Association is an obligation for Kosovo and “this has been reiterated several times by the European Union at the highest level, that of European leaders”.
Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement on the Association in 2013 and later in 2015 on the principles for its establishment.
However, in 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the agreement was not fully in line with the Constitution.
At the end of last year, the international community presented the parties with a draft statute for this association. The parties initially said they accepted it in principle, but have not taken any steps forward.
In an interview with Radio Free Europe (RFE) on March 19, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said he did not accept this draft statute.
Stano reiterated that the establishment of the Association is linked to Kosovo’s progress in its aim to become part of the bloc.
“If Kosovo is not able to deliver in this direction, then it will not be seen as a positive signal that it wants to move on the path towards the normalization of relations [with Serbia], which is now linked to Kosovo’s progress on the path towards the EU,” he added.
The European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom continue to insist that Kosovo is obliged to establish the Association.
Stano emphasized that the issue of establishing the Association is continuously discussed in meetings with the parties.
However, he said that in this week’s meeting at the level of Kosovo and Serbia’s chief negotiators, the main issue will be finding a solution to the issue of Serbian-banned dinar in Kosovo.
He said that the negotiations last week made progress and they will continue on Thursday, April 4, in Brussels.
The use of the dinar for cash payments in Kosovo was banned on February 1, when the Central Bank of Kosovo implemented a new regulation that designated the euro as the country’s sole official currency.
This issue, besides angering Serbia, also prompted disagreements between the government of Kosovo and the international community, as the Serbian community in Kosovo has been receiving payments in dinars from Serbia’s budget for years.
Western diplomats urged Kosovo to suspend the regulation to give affected citizens time to adjust to the new practice.
