The European Parliament (EP) has said in a resolution it adopted on Thursday that the credibility of the European Union (EU) is damaged by the lack of success in the dialogue mediated by the bloc between Kosovo and Serbia.
In the approved resolution on the results of the EU’s foreign and security policy, through which it speaks of the need to increase the influence of the EU in the world and for a more determined approach towards the Western Balkans region, the EP also warns Kosovo and Serbia of consequences if the dialogue agreements are not implemented.
However, the EP called on the European Union to change its approach to dialogue in order to make progress.
“We invite the EU to adopt a new approach in mediation between the parties in order to overcome the current stalemate. We recall that the failure of this dialogue will also reflect on the role of the EU as a reliable factor in foreign policy”, the text of this report states.
This is quite a report that includes topics from the EU’s relations with the United States, cooperation with NATO, the strengthening of European defense capacities, the fight against disinformation campaigns, and the situation in the Western Balkans region, including relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
As for Kosovo, this report “condemns the terrorist attack against police officers on September 24 in Banjska, Republic of Kosovo, as well as other provocations”.
On September 24, a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in Banjska of Zveçan, killing Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku. During the exchange of fire, three attackers were also killed.
The responsibility for this attack was taken by Millan Radoicic, the former vice-president of Serb List- the main party of Serbs in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade.
Kosovo blamed Serbia for the attack, which denied any involvement, but has since released Radoicic on the condition that he not travel to Kosovo.
In this resolution, the European Parliament demands that “all those who are responsible for the terrorist attacks in the north of Kosovo” be brought to justice and demands that, if it is proven that Serbia had a hand in them, measures be taken against the Government of Serbia.
The parties are asked to work to reduce tensions and to avoid rhetoric or actions that could create new tensions.
Then, the resolution supports the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which is facilitated by the EU, and calls on both parties to approach the continuation of the dialogue in good faith and in a spirit of compromise. The resolution, however, also calls on the EU to have an approach to the cloud in the role of mediator between the parties.
“We invite Kosovo and Serbia to engage in dialogue in good faith and in a spirit of compromise in order to reach, without delay, a comprehensive, legally binding agreement on the normalization of relations between them, based on mutual recognition, in accordance with international law” is stated in one point of this report.
The resolution warns Kosovo and Serbia that the failure to make progress in the normalization of relations “will have a negative impact on the integration of both countries in the EU”.
With the mediation of the EU, Kosovo and Serbia reached the Agreement for the normalization of relations on February 27, 2023.
The agreement foresees, among other things, the mutual respect of independence and territorial integrity, the recognition of documents, diplomas, license plates, as well as the deepening of cooperation in the field of economy, rule of law, health and missing persons.
Serbia also undertook not to block Kosovo’s membership in international organizations, while Kosovo agreed to provide the Serbian community with a certain level of self-management, namely the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities.
But, a year later, of all the points of the agreement, only those related to missing persons and license plate recognition were implemented.
Meanwhile, the EP says in its resolution that “it regrets the restrictive measures of the EU towards Kosovo and we call for their immediate removal”.
The report also welcomes Kosovo’s application for EU membership and asks the Commission to respond to this application. Recalls that Kosovo’s request for candidate status must be evaluated on the basis of merit in fulfilling the criteria.
