Negotiator team with no work in store for unblocking talks

The leaders and members of Kosovo's negotiating team for political dialogue with Serbia say that because of the failure to pursue dialogue in Brussels between the sides, even the team's work has stalled.

They say some of the delegation members are still working on specific topics, and others are finished with the works.

One of the chairmans of the negotiating team, Shpend Ahmeti, says that currently members of the political and technical delegation are using it to become functional working groups.

“We have prepared four positions on four different topics, but we are thinking that we should continue with negotiating strategies, because we don't even want to find out, nor do we want to have the document that a few months ago can reveal the way before”, Ahmeti says.

On April 29th in Berlin, the meeting of Western Balkan leaders is expected to be held, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to be, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron.

Ahmeti also emphasises that the delegation is waiting for what new ones can emerge from this meeting for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“E looks forward to the April 29th meeting, to see that there are new ideas or new opportunities to continue dialogue, and also the Law for Dialogue is found in the Constitutional Court to assess constitutionality. All these [developions] are generally affecting, so that we can have a slower pace of dialogue process”, Ahmeti points out.

The other member of the negotiating team, Dardan Gashi, who is also deputy prime minister and minister of the Diaspore and Strategic Investments, tells Radio Free Europe that the delegation members who have had commitments around the team have done their jobs, and some others are still working.

“We are ready at any moment to start with work in terms of confrontation with Serbia. But, in terms of daily work, we have all other jobs. We are not only engaged in dialogue, but dialogue has been selected an additional work”, Gashi says.

In addition to the delegation's leaders, Fatmir Limaj and Shpend Ahmeti, its other members are Enver Hoxhaj from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Avni Arifi from the prime minister's office and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Behgjet Pacolli, president of the New Kosovo Alliance, Mahir Jagcilar chairman of the Turkish Democratic Party, as well as Dardan Gashi.

Members of the delegation are also Visar Ymer and Dukagjin Gorani of the Social Democrat Party, for which they are keeping the seats reserved for the two opposition parties, the LDK and Vetevendosje. The negotiating team also has working groups and technical staff.

The negotiating team's work, representatives of the Soviet society see it as untransparent.

Life Krasniqi, connoisseur of the process of political dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo, tells Radio Free Europe that, except for a few meetings the delegation has had with European Union officials and as long as the dialogue process is not continuing, neither is the commitment of the negotiating team seen.

“We don't have formal official information coming from the state delegation to actually show, what their commitment is now, what the preparations are doing, which are either doing or simply making more general notice on what Kosovo should now expect from this process and what is its role of delegation and function in the current situation”, Krasniqi points out.

The two largest opposition parties in Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Vetevendosje Movement, have refused to be part of this team.

Representatives of these parties had rejected the invitation of Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, nor of Parliament Speaker Kadri Veselin, and Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, to join the state delegation.

From the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Vetevendosje Movement, stress that Kosovo's negotiating team is unlegitimate, while the Law for Dialogue is unconstitutional.

Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia continues to be blocked as a result of the customs fee the Kosovo government has decided on goods originating from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

European Union officials have called on Kosovo institutions to suspend the decision on this fee to pave the way for dialogue to normalise Kosovo-Serbia reports. However, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has said this decision will remain in effect until Serbia recognises the state of Kosovo.