Scholz's statement, Macron and Melon: Kosovo to launch establishment of association, Serbia to grant recognition de-facto

In the communiques, they say they welcome the commitment of both sides in yesterday's discussions and that they take into account the comments of the two leaders for establishing the Association of Serb Majorities and their readiness to implement.

In this joint stance, it is said that the draft status submitted is within the parameters set by the parties.

The “Draft statute that we presented and fully adopt includes a modern European way to address the sensitive issue of minority protection in line with the best European practices and standards, within parameters defined by the parties”, it is said in communiqué.

In addition, they say they expect from the parties to fulfil commitments to implement the Normalisation Agreement. In response, they stress that the implementation phase must progress with both sides meeting their respective obligations in parallel and step-by-step, based on the principle that both sides must do something to get something.

Therefore, we underline our expectations once again for the parties to meet their commitments to implement the Road to Normalisation Agreement. The implementation phase must progress with both sides to meet their respective obligations in a step-by-step, based on the principle that both sides must do something to get something. The focus now should be on advancing the full implementation of the Agreement without preconditions or delays”, the response stressed.

Macron, Scholz and Melon in this joint position have said that to achieve rapid progress in implementation, they call on Kosovo to initiate the procedure of establishing association as in the draft state, and also urge Serbia to make recognition de-facto.

“To achieve rapid progress in implementation, we call on Kosovo to initiate the procedure for establishing the Association of Serb Majorities in Kosovo as outlined in the draft Statut and Serbia to make recognition of de-facto. Formities, including approval, should not hinder progress on this matter”, It says in the communique.

Eventually, they have said that in the absence of progress, parties are at risk of losing much.

“Now we expect Kosovo and Serbia to agree quickly on details in the EU-attensive dialogue. In the absence of progress in normalising relations, the two sides risk losing significant opportunities”, the communique concludes.