BELGRADE – The implementation of the Brussels agreement in the past year did not bring about reconciliation among citizens in Kosovo-Metohija, participants at the conference on normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina relations stated.
During the gathering in Belgrade on Friday, Principal Research Fellow of the Institute of Social Sciences Dusan Janjic said that the Brussels agreement is the best agreement Serbia could reach.
”In the talks, Belgrade did not recognise Kosovo’s independence (unilaterally declared by ethnic Albanians) but there is a question as to whether the dual sovereignty in practice entails the dualism of institutions. In reality, we have parallel institutions and these have been growing stronger over the past three months,” Janjic said.
He noted that economic, property and human rights issues need to be resolved and that the process of normalisation of relations with Pristina and Serbia’s European integration need to be harmonised as the EU brought these two matters in close connection.
Executive Director of the Kosovo Institute for Research and Development Policy Ilir Deda said that the Brussels agreement is not a historical one because it legalised the existing status quo and divided Kosovo, and backed a legally binding agreement between Belgrade and Pristina.
Deda claims that a majority of agreements reached on grounds of the Brussels agreement have not been implemented although High EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said in her report that only ten percent of the agreements have not been realised in the field.
He said that the EU is not a good mediator and that the U.S. should join the Belgrade-Pristina talks.
Chair of the Pristina Council on Foreign Relations Engjeluse Morina claims that the Brussels agreement created segregation in the Kosovo society, which is contrary to the agreement.
”With such an approach of the EU and the situation, we will eventually have an even greater segregation. The situation with multiethnic Kosovo is not likely to succeed,” Morina said.
Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences Filip Ejdus noted that Serbia can be satisfied with the Brussels agreement because it is status neutral and has brought about certain betterment in the position of Serbs in the province and an improvement of the country’s image abroad, and it also accelerated the country’s European integration.
Ejdus also warned that as the dialogue keeps progressing, Belgrade will have to face the issue concerning non-recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
