Locked Agreements, Kosovo Sends EU Report

Minister for Dialogue Edita Tahiri, at the same time chief negotiator of the Republic of Kosovo in the Brussels dialogue, has presented an official report to the European Union about the situation in the process of implementing Brussels' agreements. The emphasis in this report is only on agreements that are pending implementation, highlighting the blockades, obstacles and sabotages Serbia has made to the process of implementing Brussels' agreements and the motives behind them.

Next, find the integral text of this report and attach the original English - language document.

Subject: PREVICE BRUSSEL WRITER IN PRAY BOOKING

There are a number of agreements reached in the Brussels Dialogue that are pending implementation. Some of the agreements are completely blocked as they are: energy, justice and diplomat agreements. The others have been interrupted in various stages of implementation such as the agreement on cadastre, the extinction of “civil protection”, the revising of the Mitrovica Bridge, the revising of the main road in northern Mitrovica, the complete break-up of Serbia's remaining parallel structures in Kosovo. Others have been subjected to delays such as association, reciprocity on registration plates.

1. Agreements blocked or hampered by Serbia

Serbia has blocked energy, justice, diplomas and cadastre agreements. It has prevented the complete re-visitation of the Mitrovica Bridge and the revising of the main road in northern Mitrovica, the dissolution of parallel Serb municipalities, has sabotaged the final implementation of the agreement to eliminate “civil protection” / the issue of objects for Kosovo institutions where former members “MC” are employed. While still backing some of its parallel structures in Kosovo, contrary to the Brussels Accords.

1. Energy

As you may know, the energy deal has been negotiated for more than six years and still cannot be implemented. Serbia is blocking it by not allowing the new company to register in Kosovo in accordance with Kosovo's laws, as provided with the energy agreement reached in 2013. In concrete terms, the new company, as a branch of a Serbian company, is refusing to mention in Kosovo as the state in which I will operate, in its statute, despite the fact that the agreement requires respect of the Kosovo Laws. We believe that behind these obstacles lies Serbia's unwillingness to implement the energy agreement, due to its political and economic interests. This has not only affected Kosovo's energy system, but also regional energy security, as well as the regional agenda of six Western Balkan states (the Berlin Process) on regional energy planning. On the other hand, Kosovo carries on its shoulders regional energy stability at the expense of it, though it can legitimately apply reciprocity measures, as Kosovo respectively. The STT has won the dispute legally in 2008, when the Energy Community Secretariat made the decision that Serbia has violated the Treaty of Athens in relation to Kosovo. If delays continue, Kosovo will be forced to implement reciprocity against Serbia, since after 9 years of its legally recognised rights, it has legitimacy to defend its sovereignty over its energy system.

2. Justice

In terms of justice, implementation has been curbed by Serbia since January 10th 2017, when Serbia should officially cut off wages and labour contracts for Serbian judges and prosecutors and administrative staff recruited to work in Kosovo's justice institutions. Serbia has yet to submit any government decision that would prove that it has fulfilled these obligations stemming from the Brussels Agreement on Justice. Consequently, it has delayed the process of consolidating the Constitutional Court and Prosecutorship in the Mitrovica region, as envisioned in the Brussels Agreement on Justice in accordance with Kosovo Law. The Kosovo side has met all its obligations.

3. Diplomats

Even in the field of education, Serbia has shown no willingness to help students through implementation of the agreement on mutual acceptance of diplomas between the two states, Kosovo and Serbia. Since 2011, when this agreement was reached and later expanded in January 2016, it has never been implemented by Serbia. The motives for blockades seem to be political nature, oriented against the Presevo Valley Albanians, who especially need their diplomas accepted, as they study in Kosovo, in the absence of the Albanian-language University in the Presevo Valley in Serbia, who seek to return and serve in the education sector or be employed in other public sectors in the Presevo Valley.

4. Cadastra

The cadastre deal was reached in 2011. There have been serious delays on Kosovo's part in adopting the Law on Technical Agency on Comparing and verifying cadastral documents that will return to Kosovo, which have been taken violent by Serbia during the 1998-1999 fight against Kosovo. However, since Kosovo adopted this law, in June 2016, it has been Serbia that has prevented implementation by not yet returning Kosovo's scanned and verified cadastre documents.

5. “Civil Protection”

In addition to problems created by Serbia's blockade of the above-mentioned agreements on Kosovo, we have recently noted Serbia's sabotages to specific agreements such as sabotaging the issue of objects for Kosovo institutions that have employed former <x0 members of civil protection”. Kosovo has paid salaries for 378 people for 18 months, but they can't work, because the locals we rented have been bombed and the landlord has been threatened. In addition, objects of former “civil protection” that were to be handed over to the Government of Kosovo, in accordance with the Brussels agreement, surrender has not yet been made. The EU has not been able to help resolve this issue so far, although we are constantly insisting.

6. Serbia still supports some of its parallel structures in Kosovo -- contrary to Brussels agreements

The most disturbing phenomenon is Serbia's dualism under way, which means that on the one hand it implements agreements and continues to support its parallel structures in Kosovo, including illegal municipal structures in the north and on some other parts of Kosovo.

This dualistic approach of Serbia to the Brussels dialogue essentially violates the goal of normalising relations between the two states. The best evidence is the fact that even after six years of this dialogue, the Kosovo government ministers still cannot pay any official visits to northern municipalities. The EU has not been able to help remove this serious obstacle to the normalisation process.

5. Mitrovica Bridge Revisited

Barricada was removed from the Mitrovica Bridge in 2016, but the bridge's complete revitance has been hampered by Serbia through some evil and destabilizing provocations to Kosovo, such as the illegal wall in Mitrovica and a black train aimed at violating Kosovo's sovereignty and territorial integrity. As a result, the bridge has not yet opened for free movement of people and vehicles, though it was scheduled for January 2017, as predicted in the Brussels Agreement.

6. Resilination of Main Road in Northern Mitrovica

Following the removal of the illegal wall in Mitrovica in February 2017, through dialogue between the Government of Kosovo and the local authorities of northern Mitrovica, supported by two political-level rounds of talks in Brussels in the months of January and February, revising the main road began on the basis of the agreed plan.

However, the process has been stopped by Serbia, and therefore the revirusing of the path to the footpath has been blocked. This has also caused a deadlock in the completion of the bridge's revitive.

1. Kosovo's delayed agreements
2. Association

After implementing the agreement on Kosovo's state-run phone code, Kosovo has moved towards the launch of implementation of the Kosovo Serb majority municipality Association agreement. The first consultative meeting was held early in December, yet the appearance of the illegal wall in northern Mitrovica, orchestrated by Serbia, has interrupted the process of implementing this agreement. Following the removal of the wall and the ban on Kosovo's entry into the provocative train, Kosovo again made efforts to resume implementation during March 2017. However, Serbia again thwarted the process by insisting that implementation begin in Brussels instead of Pristina, which was contrary to the Brussels agreement. And, when Kosovo was flexible for the possibility of implementation starting in Pristina and then holding a meeting in Brussels, representatives of the Serb community, negatively instructed by Serbia, refused to return to Kosovo institutions. Meanwhile, the Kosovo Parliament suspended dialogue until Mr. Ramush Haradinaj, who was held in custody in France because of an arbitrary warrant issued by Serbia. When the suspension ended after his release and representatives of the Serb community decided to return to Kosovo institutions (meaning when Serbia asked them to return), Kosovo only entered early state elections and the government's entire agenda was put on hold.

Kosovo remains committed to implementing the Agreement for the Association of Serb Major Communities in Kosovo, in line with the Brussels Agreement, the Constitution of Kosovo and the Constitutional Court's decision. After the new government's formation, Kosovo will continue to fulfil these obligations, as it has done with all other obligations stemming from Brussels Dialogue in the past six years.

7. Association and Evacuation of parallel structures in sync

The establishment of association should be in sync with the dissolution of Serbia's remaining parallel structures in Kosovo. Both processes will go parallel as agreed.

8. Reciprocity for vehicle registration plates

This agreement was reached in September 2016 and was scheduled to begin applying on November 15, 2016. Kosovo has delayed its implementation due to delays in adopting the necessary decisions related to implementation. On February 16th, the Government of Kosovo approved this agreement and subsequent decisions were made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, the dynamic of elections in Serbia, then the suspension of dialogue by the Kosovo Parliament and elections in Kosovo have hampered the resumption of implementation. Kosovo briefed the EU about readiness for implementation and insisted that the renewed deadline be agreed on between the sides through electronic communication. However, the EU announced that the Serbian side insists that the agreement be made through a meeting of the parties that should be held in Brussels. Kosovo is ready for implementation.

Finals

The implementation of pending agreements should be made as soon as possible. Any further delay would negatively affect the outcome of this dialogue and damage public confidence in the process.

Clearly, the Serb side has seriously failed to meet its obligations. You can recall Serbia's destabilising provocations on Kosovo's part in December 2016 and January 2017, through a strange wall built in Mitrovica, a strange train trying to enter Kosovo, arbitrary arrest sheet for Mr. Ramush Haradinaj, who was held unnecessaryly for several months in France. The Kosovo government responded to such challenges with determination and caution, defended sovereignty and integrity, and in co-operation with international partners, the EU and the US, the situation stabilised. Serbia also tried to play several geopolitical scenarios promoting ideas of changing borders in the region and exchange of territories that seemed to have been influenced by Russia and its ambitions to restore its influence, lost after the Cold War ended. These are very dangerous scenarios, which are opposed by Kosovo and other Western Balkan countries, since our common strategic position is alignment with the Western world and with the Euro-Atlantic community.

We believe that commitments to this dialogue can be proven as reliable only if both states continue with full implementation of their obligations. The actual implementation of the agreements reached and further dialogue that will be finalised with mutual recognition between the two states, Kosovo and Serbia, will not only ensure their European future, but also avoid any inter-state dispute that enables future generations of the two states to live in peace and good neighbourhoods.

I can assure that Kosovo will continue on its path towards the Euro-Atlantic future, because we share common values. I believe that the future of all Western Balkan countries is being anchored to the West, though in this regard our Western partners have to support us more decisively, to help us cope with any security threat that knocks on our doors, whether geopolitical nature or any other nature. Other options belong to the past and must remain in the past.

I would like to stress that the EU remains a crucial factor to help accelerate and sustain the results of this dialogue. We consider that the role of the United States, Germany and other European countries is necessary for the success of this dialogue.

With respect,

Edita Tahiri

Minister for Dialogue

Chief negotiator in Brussels dialogue