Borrell: Important, symbolic step taken towards forming Community

BRUSSELS - EU foreign policy and security chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday's round of the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina had produced an "important and symbolic step" towards the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities.

Speaking to reporters after a high-level meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Pristina's PM Albin Kurti, Borrell voiced concern over a potential escalation in the north of Kosovo-Metohija.

He added that, despite disagreements, the parties had agreed to start negotiations on the statute of the Community "in the near future."

"...Today, the Management Team comprised of Kosovo Serbs finally presented to the Parties the first draft. It is not the final draft, it is a starting point, but here it is, the first draft of the Statute of this Association/Community of the Kosovo Serb-majority municipalities.

This is in line with the Article 7 of the new Agreement, and the presentation of this draft makes an important part of the Agreement," he said.

"And as expected, the views of the Parties are far apart on the nature of this Association/Community.

I didn’t expect anything else. I was sure that the parties were having different views on the nature of the Association/Community of (Serb-majority) municipalities. But, even if they disagreed, they agreed to start negotiations on the statute of this Association/Community in the near future, taking this first draft as a starting point for the discussions.

And I want to urge both Parties to engage in this process constructively and in good faith and being ready to reach compromises.

The process should be guided by the past Dialogue agreements and will be inspired by existing European good practices and models. And we have a lot in Europe. We have a lot of cases of associations, municipalities, with different natures, in (almost) every (EU) country you can find a model," he said.

Speaking about the current situation in Kosovo-Metohija, Borrell voiced grave concern over developments following recent local elections in the north of Kosovo-Metohija, which saw a very low turnout.

"And it is clear, taking into account this very low turnout, that these elections do not offer a long-term political solution. And on the contrary, they have the potential to lead to escalation and to undermine the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement. And this is not what we want to happen. I hope nobody wants it to happen. But there is a big risk, and therefore I have urged both parties to find a solution that enables Kosovo Serbs to swiftly return to the institutions they left in November last year," he said.

"Both leaders also recognised the gravity of the situation on the ground, and it is clear that concrete actions from both sides are needed to avoid any risk of escalation.

But regrettably, the leaders were unable to reach any agreement today. And I am afraid that we will be facing, maybe, I hope not, a critical situation. Talks need to continue soon," Borrell added.

He welcomed the adoption of a declaration on missing persons, noting that it was a humanitarian issue that should not be politicised.

"It is finally time to close a painful chapter," he said.