Resumption of Belgrade-Pristina talks in Brussels
The Belgrade and Pristina negotiating teams arrived at the EU's headquarters around noon, where they will continue the dialogue on Kosovo at the office of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.
(kosovocompromisestuff) Friday, April 19, 2013
According to sources close to the Belgrade negotiating team, the two sides may sign an agreement by Monday if all the requirements put forward by Belgrade are met.
The Serbian delegation will have a meeting with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the afternoon, to discuss Belgrade's demand for the security of the Serb population in northern Kosovo, a source close to Belgrade's negotiating team told reporters.
Earlier in the afternoon, Rasmussen told a press conference that NATO supports the dialogue and is ready to play its role if an agreement is reach.
The Serbian delegation is comprised of Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Presidential Adviser Marko Djuric and head of the government's Office for KiM Aleksandar Vulin.
The ninth round of dialogue ended on Tuesday, after 15 hours of uneasy and at times frustrating talks, yielding no agreement.
On the eve of the new, tenth round of talks, Vucic and Dacic met with President Tomislav Nikolic for consultations concerning the previous round and the new agreement offer.
This time, Belgrade got a more favorable offer than that on April 2, when it rejected the proposed document as Pristina maintained its stand, stubbornly refusing to allow a community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo to have any executive powers.
Under the new proposal, a community of Serb municipalities would be putting forward and appointing local and regional police commanders. The Serb-majority municipalities south of the Ibar river would have local commanders as well.
The police force composition would reflect the ethnic composition of the population in the Serb municipalities.
Also, as Presidential Adviser Marko Djuric said, municipalities with majority Albanian population will not be able to be annexed to the Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo, which will serve to prevent the possibility of an artificial change to the municipalities' ethnic structure.
A district court would be established in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, where Serbs constitute the majority of the population, and this court would have departments in all four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo, Djuric said.
Serbian Prime Minister stated that Belgrade was willing to accept the improved draft agreement on a community of Serb municipalities in the previous round of talks, but that agreement was undermined by Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci.
As Dacic put it, Taci conditioned the acceptance of point 9 of the agreement on the status of police in Serb municipalities by the adoption of point 14 on Kosovo's membership in international organizations, including the membership in the United Nations, but the Serbian delegation could not accept that.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is mediating between Belgrade and Pristina, asked both delegations on Thursday to consider the proposals once again and see if an agreement is possible.
Pristina's delegation returned to Brussels immediately after landing in Ljubljana, and sources close to the Serbian delegation told Tanjug late Thursday that the talks will continue since they have received guarantees from the EU that point 14 has been modified.
According to the same sources, the Belgrade team will not sign the agreement if the Serbs from northern Kosovo do not get to choose regional police commanders and if Pristina keeps insisting on a UN seat.
Once the Serbian team returns from Brussels, the government has to vote on the agreement. This will most probably take place on Monday, after which the document will be put before the parliament.
On Sunday, the deal will also be discussed by the main board of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.
The Serbian delegation will have a meeting with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the afternoon, to discuss Belgrade's demand for the security of the Serb population in northern Kosovo, a source close to Belgrade's negotiating team told reporters.
Earlier in the afternoon, Rasmussen told a press conference that NATO supports the dialogue and is ready to play its role if an agreement is reach.
The Serbian delegation is comprised of Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Presidential Adviser Marko Djuric and head of the government's Office for KiM Aleksandar Vulin.
The ninth round of dialogue ended on Tuesday, after 15 hours of uneasy and at times frustrating talks, yielding no agreement.
On the eve of the new, tenth round of talks, Vucic and Dacic met with President Tomislav Nikolic for consultations concerning the previous round and the new agreement offer.
This time, Belgrade got a more favorable offer than that on April 2, when it rejected the proposed document as Pristina maintained its stand, stubbornly refusing to allow a community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo to have any executive powers.
Under the new proposal, a community of Serb municipalities would be putting forward and appointing local and regional police commanders. The Serb-majority municipalities south of the Ibar river would have local commanders as well.
The police force composition would reflect the ethnic composition of the population in the Serb municipalities.
Also, as Presidential Adviser Marko Djuric said, municipalities with majority Albanian population will not be able to be annexed to the Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo, which will serve to prevent the possibility of an artificial change to the municipalities' ethnic structure.
A district court would be established in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, where Serbs constitute the majority of the population, and this court would have departments in all four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo, Djuric said.
Serbian Prime Minister stated that Belgrade was willing to accept the improved draft agreement on a community of Serb municipalities in the previous round of talks, but that agreement was undermined by Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci.
As Dacic put it, Taci conditioned the acceptance of point 9 of the agreement on the status of police in Serb municipalities by the adoption of point 14 on Kosovo's membership in international organizations, including the membership in the United Nations, but the Serbian delegation could not accept that.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is mediating between Belgrade and Pristina, asked both delegations on Thursday to consider the proposals once again and see if an agreement is possible.
Pristina's delegation returned to Brussels immediately after landing in Ljubljana, and sources close to the Serbian delegation told Tanjug late Thursday that the talks will continue since they have received guarantees from the EU that point 14 has been modified.
According to the same sources, the Belgrade team will not sign the agreement if the Serbs from northern Kosovo do not get to choose regional police commanders and if Pristina keeps insisting on a UN seat.
Once the Serbian team returns from Brussels, the government has to vote on the agreement. This will most probably take place on Monday, after which the document will be put before the parliament.
On Sunday, the deal will also be discussed by the main board of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.
