Kosovo, Serbia discuss economic issues Thursday in Brussels

He made those comments a day after the European Union confirmed the August 27th meeting in Brussels at the expert level.

Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said that at Thursday's meeting in Brussels, he will discuss the final phase towards mutual recognition.

The “Next to discussions being made in Brussels are part of the final agreement for mutual recognition, which addressed at the previous meeting the issue of the missing, and tomorrow economic co-operation issues will be discussed between the two countries”, Prime Minister Hoti said.

The level talks of expert groups are expected to be held a week before the White House meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, mediated by National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and President Trump's special envoy for Kosovo-Serbia talks, Ambassador Richard Green.

American officials on several occasions have stressed that the meeting at the White House will focus on economic issues between the two countries, while political issues will be in the hands of Europeans.

In Kosovo, economic experts say improving economic relations enables the creation of a stable economic and political environment in the region.

Berat Rukiqi divides Kosovo's Economic Oda says such a thing is essential for attracting foreign investments to the country and the region.

Among the reasons to say no investments in the scale we expect or should be in Kosovo is this uncertainty of political relations in the region, especially with Serbia, but also with Bosnia on the other side”, he says.

Arrian Zeka of the American Economic Oda believes that all political problems that translate into economic problems will be removed in Washington.

“The improvement of the freedom of movement of people, the circulation of goods, services and capital, and then the parties if they reached such an agreement, of course, would also benefit what was promised by the United States administration, which is funding projects of both Kosovo state and Serbian individual, whether joint interstate projects”, he says.

They say such projects are in place even of Kosovo's economic recovery from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the United States' involvement is seen as a kind of guarantee of implementing whatever agreement is possible.

We see this process of regional co-operation even of this better investment climate that should also be created as a need to address problems that the pandemic has caused. We as an institution have proposed regional co-operation projects as important links to important international ports or railways or roads as an important pillar of economic recovery”, says Mr. Rukiqi.

Not only the involvement of the United States but also the location in which these agreements are intended to be reached I think it will increase the level of seriousness and eventually make the parties stand behind their commitments. We're talking about an institution like the White House where, however, what the parties will give as formal vows, I believe it will matter for their future implementation. This without reducing the importance of the European Union headquarters, which is Brussels”, says Mr. Zeka.

Representatives in delegation for talks with Serbia

Prime Minister Hoti said the government is making preparations and the team for the meeting at the White House. He said this meeting is of high state importance as he called for the inclusion of all political subjects in the Kosovo delegation for these talks.

There's a meeting we've been waiting for a while. I have sent letters to opposition parties today to propose their representatives to this delegation of the Kosovo government at the White House meeting, and then to the next meeting, scheduled for early September in Brussels”, Prime Minister Hoti said.

The Vetevendosje movement already confirmed the letter sent by Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti to attend the September 4th meeting at the White House and Brussels.

Through a response, this movement said it would not participate in these meetings, while calling the government unleg and illegal.

Our position in this matter is clear. Kosovo can dialogue with Serbia only after early elections when we will have full legitimacy governments, which design, introduce and ensure unity through a platform that receives the support of 2/3 of MPs in the Assembly, as well as always being initiated by reciprocity as a principle of equal interstate relations”, the reaction of the Vetevendosje movement is said.

The meeting at the White House was originally scheduled for 27 June, but plans failed because Kosovo's Special Prosecutorship in The Hague published the announcement of the establishment of still unconfirmed charges against Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and Democratic Party Chairman Kadri Veselin as suspects of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

On 16 July, Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, held the first meeting after 20 months mediated by the European Union.

The two leaders discussed the issue of missing persons during the war, economic development and reconciliation to continue talks on September 7th.