The EU facilitated meeting between the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has concluded.

After the meeting, President Vucic told the media that the two had agreed to continue with the dialogue until July.

“I don’t know what to tell you, to be honest extending the dialogue says a lot about the result. We agreed to continue the dialogue until July. I hope that this is something important that can guarantee peace and stability”, said Vucic.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister has also commented following the meeting explaining that the delegation introduced their stance on the process as well as the deals reached so far.

“We introduced our critical stance on the process and agreements reached so far. We expressed our willingness for a constructive dialogue on mutual recognition. The next meeting will take place ahead of the summer holidays which start on July 25”, declared Kurti.

According to President Vucic, the delegation of Kosovo does not want to enforce the agreements signed nor discuss about the Association of Serb Municipalities.

Vucic also spoke of a row with Kurti, where the former stressed that he will never recognize Kosovo.

“He (Albin Kurti) asked me when will you recognize Kosovo and I responded “never”. He came to Brussels not to agree on anything”, said the Serbian head of state.

EU Special Representative for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, described the meeting as “not an easy one”, however weighed in on the importance that it happened in the first place.

“Both leaders had a very open and frank exchange on what they each want from the dialogue. What is important for the European Union is that both leaders confirmed that there is no other way forward but normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia”, said Lajcak.

This is the first time that PM Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic meet.

Kosovo’s Kurti has declared that he will not continue the “archaic dialogue”, but will discuss the structure of the future dialogue.

In his remarks ahead of the meeting, Borrell encouraged both sides to resume the dialogue and achieve concrete results without further delay, although admitting that it will not be easy.

“Dialogue is not going to be easy. But this process and this sincere engagement by both sides are necessary for the benefit of the people of Kosovo and Serbia,” stated the EU High Representative.

“The dialogue and the outcome of the dialogue is the path to the European future of both sides”, he added.

Meanwhile, the European Union expects to continue the dialogue where it was left.

The spokesperson of the European Commission, Peter Stano, told a Serbian media that this is not “an old dialogue”, but a “continuation of the dialogue” facilitated by the European Union.

10 years on from the beginning of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, what are the expectations?

The technical dialogue between the two countries first began in March 2011.

The dialogue was initially led by the government of Kosovo, with Edita Tahiri as chief negotiator.

Although at first Kosovo warned that it is only willing to discuss with Serbia about technical issues, by the end of 2012, the two countries started engaging in discussions at a political level aimed at normalizing ties.

The negotiations were then led by then prime ministers Hashim Thaci and Ivica Dacic, with the two signing an agreement in 2013. Later on, the dialogue was elevated to the presidential level.

So far, the neighboring countries have sealed 23 agreements.

In November 2018, the government of Ramush Haradinaj imposed a 100% tariff on all Serbian goods, in exchange for the latter’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

Afterward, when Albin Kurti won the elections, although staying in office for only 51 days, he removed the tariff and imposed a reciprocity measure.

After Kurti’s government was ousted, Avdullah Hoti came to the executive, while one of the first actions that he took was abolishing the reciprocity measure.

The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue resumed on the 16 of July 2020 in Brussels. PM Hoti and President Vucic mainly spoke about economic cooperation and the issue of the missing people from the war.

On September 4, an agreement was signed between Kosovo’s Hoti and Serbia’s Vucic brokered by the White House and in presence of then president Trump.

Now the two states will return to the roundtable of discussions in Brussel, while one of the most fiery topics is expected to be the Association of Serb Municipalities.