a minute agoLajcak from Dubrovnik message to Kosovo and Serbia: The game has changed, use the window of opportunity because it won't stay open forever.
Periskopi(2 years ago)
(2 years ago)The EU's emissary for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, has spoken on a panel discussion at the Dubrovnik Forum about the negotiations process between the two countries and the letter former Serbian Prime Minister Anna Brnabyq has sent to the EU, not considering the Road Agreement towards Normalisation as legally binding. Lajcak has said the EU [...]
Lajcak has said the EU has clearly said the agreements reached in Brussels and Ohrid are legally binding and has indicated that the obligations that come out of the agreement are also part of the 35th chapter for Serbia, meaning they are also part of the report between Serbia and the EU.
The Slovak emissary has said that it is wasting too much time to discuss something that is not important.
Of course, it is up to the parties to determine what normalisation means. The agreement we reached in Brussels and Ohrid is legally binding in its entirety. That was told the parties and they were hired during the meeting in Ohrid.
The EU has said several times that the agreement is legally binding. Part of this agreement has become part of chapter 35, which I found to be a formal part of the report between Serbia and the EU. We're wasting a lot of time on something that's very important”, Lajcak said in Dubrovnik, says Express newspaper.
The director of this discussion, FAZ journalist Michael Martens, has asked the Slovak emissary if he is currently mediating dialogue until the EU has nothing to offer in exchange for the two countries. Lajcak has said he would agree with this arrangement if the discussion took place two years ago, but has added that the game has already changed and that the EU is serious about membership.
Slovak has cited the Development Plan, the official Narrative for gradual membership and reforms for all Western Balkan states. The EU emissary has said there is already an open window for all countries and has motivated the states of the Western Balkans to seize the possibility it had been before. Lajcak has indicated that this window will remain open forever.
I would agree with you if you asked me that question two years ago, but we're in another game now and Mr. Kovakovic said it. It's a new momentum, which came late, but it's here. The EU is serious about Western Balkan membership. The EU is taking concrete steps, the Growth Plan is one of them -- formal narrative for gradual membership is another -- the reform plan for each partner in the Western Balkans. The EU is getting ready to accept new members from the Western Balkans, which was the case five years ago. But this window of opportunity will be open forever. We have the greatest motivation for our partners to use this window. The clear European perspective is among the leverage the EU has. He was here, but he's here now”, Miroslav Lajcak said.
