Points containing historic agreement on Kosovo, Serbia

The Kosovo Assembly has already defined the platform of the Kosovo government as the agenda, which envisions the end of dialogue with Serbia with reaching a legally binding agreement on both sides, recalls the DW.

And through a final agreement with Serbia, which is the full normalisation of the reports, Kosovo aims to ensure the removal of obstacles created for membership in the United Nations organisation, the European Union and other international structures and organisations. To enter this final phase of dialogue and to reach this agreement with Serbia, a <x0-rup unity” is required in Kosovo, which would include the opposition. The group would be led by Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. The latter is obliged on a regular basis to inform the Kosovo Assembly of talks taking place in Brussels.

But even without discussion in the Assembly, this platform was rejected by opposition political parties. It is the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) of the largest opposition party that through a statement of media, said that “Platform for dialogue, presented at the Kosovo Government's Kosovo Assembly, is a weak, incompatible, unconstitutional document, and as such will not vote”.

“The LDK remains committed to a serious, consensual dialogue process and within the constitutional frameworks of the Republic of Kosovo. The LDK believes in the irreplaceable values of political dialogue, not only as a tool for agreement, but also as a quality of political life”, the LDK statement says.

Even the other opposition party Vetevendosje Movement has expressed itself against the government platform for talks with Serbia, where President Hashim Thaci would lead the final phase. And the latter, as well as Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, have agreed that it should enter the final phase of the dialogue, possibly with a “compromis” with Serbia, but there is no details about what “compromsis” is the word.

Ramush Haradinaj's prime minister said Kosovo will accept reconciliation with the state of Serbia in exchange for recognising Kosovo's independence, but according to him, Kosovo does not forget the crimes made by Serbia.

Kosovo's “recognition from Serbia, but, what Kosovo can do to achieve this agreement, a reconciliation, Kosovo has nothing to give. Compliance is not short, it means to be passed on to our pain, to the missing, to the slain, to the injured, to the damage, to the sexual violations, to the ruined and robbed economies, and when we agree, we are giving more, more than anyone can give. We're not saying forget, we never do, but we can ever agree, on recognition of Kosovo from Serbia. Is this the year for this, I cannot rush to say yes, but for that we have sought the help of our international friends, especially the US”, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said at a gathering of his party. Haradinaj was unable to say whether a reconciliation agreement with Serbia will occur this year.

Meanwhile, the media in Serbia record that Serbia's President, Aleksandar Vuciq, has already rejected “an American plan for Kosovo, calling it unconfirmed. But this plan has not been confirmed by Vucic, although Serbia's own president has sometimes stated that “the international community's proposal for the Kosovo issue already has it on the table”.

Kosovo and Serbia, the historic agreement has been presented on four pillars:

1. The association of Serbian municipalities is done with broad competencies and with increased competencies in the field of health, education and culture.

2. The AKS will be closely linked to the deputy chairman of the Kosovo government, which would come from the ranks of the Serb community.

3. Belgrade is expected to enable Kosovo to enter international organisations, primarily at the UN.

4. If the Serbian side accepts this package, Serbia would be allowed to enter the EU, the US would guarantee it economic and diplomatic support in the international arena”, writes the Serbian daily Vecernje Novosti.

How much is compromise possible?

But how likely is compromise under these circumstances between Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final reconciliation agreement? Blerim Burjan, political analyst, told DW, that the parties' intentions are already known, Kosovo aims at the UN and ultimately recognition from Serbia, while the latter, through the Association of Serbian municipalities, seeks access within Kosovo territory.

“Now compromise is problematic for both sides. Kosovo cannot be torn apart and be a non-functional state, even though Serbia claims that association will be fully independent of Kosovo institutions”, says Blerim Burjani.

According to him, Serbia aims to partially break Kosovo through association, and that happens later if the Kosovo side accepts it under these terms “historical agreement with Serbia”.

Serbia wants a mild split, as a variant, where Serbs will have treatment as special legal entities, as defined by the working group for drafting the statute of Serb majority municipalities. In it, Serbs themselves independently appoint their own status will without influence from Pristina. On the other hand, Kosovo has demanded that this statute be controlled and monitored by the Constitutional Court of Kosovo. So Serbia also has the advantage on this issue as a proposor, then it remains Kosovo to declare it and that Kosovo politicians have gone politically, sending it to the Constitutional Court to get rid of the debate on “So compromise with Serbia under these circumstances seems impossible”, says Blerim Burjani.

Another Belgrade analyst, Forum for Ethnic Relations Chairman Dusan Janjzic, has praised that to-do direct communication between Pristina and Belgrade does not appear to be producing results.

The “QUINT countries that are ( The US, Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy are clearly not for the long political game. They clearly think and are approaching the position that the Kosovo issue should be resolved, regardless of whether Serbia and Kosovo go towards the European Union”, the media in Serbia quoted Dusan Janjzic as saying.

In 2013 Kosovo and Serbia, with the European Union's mediation, signed an agreement to improve relations. A number of agreements were signed since then, but some have not yet found application in practice. This month's end is said to continue political high-level dialogue, but still no date has been set. European Commission spokesman Carlos Martin Ruis de Gordehuela said today that “The EU is in permanent contact with both sides and will continue with talks in Brussels as soon as possible”. But Gordehuela did not specify a date.