While Pristina awaits the government, the Serbian side writes Statute of the Community of Serbian municipalities and is close to the draft, which should be presented to Brussels. To continue political dialogue, however, the other side is needed.
Serbia’s progress on its European path is largely determined by the progress of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. That the opening of chapters depends on implementation of the Brussels agreement, confirms and the Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic. Official Belgrade says that there is no one to talk to, because there is no government in Pristina.
Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric said that the issue of integration of the police is successfully resolved.
“The north region is functioning in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, in which there is a 90 per cent of Serbs. The biggest thing left for which, we have no doubt, there is no enthusiasm on the other side is – the creation of the ZSO,” Djuric said.
Out of the 35 negotiating chapters, Brussels insists on opening first the last one dealing with Kosovo. In the report, the European Commission expects a new era in the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. But since the election on June 8, Pristina has no government. Institutional vacuum means a vacuum in the implementation of the Brussels Treaty.
“Administration of the Serbian municipalities has not been established because the Government of Kosovo has not done its job. Questions are prepared on issues of property, the issues of education and status of the Serbian community and the church,” says Dusan Janjic of the Forum for Ethnic Relations.
The European report expects stronger cooperation with EULEX, saying that the criticism of Serbs at the expense of the mission is counterproductive. For steps towards establishing a police Brussels praises Belgrade, but with the agreement on the judiciary nothing has been done. The Serbian side is expected to resolve the issues of crossings, especially in the north.
“Most of these illegal crossings are closed or there is no information on continued illegal entry of people and goods over the administrative crossings as it was before. At this point I do not see what Belgrade now could do more than in the last two years” said Predrag Simic, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences.
The main road to the opening of negotiating chapters goes through Berlin, because it is the loudest with its view that the first chapter that should be open is the chapter 35.
