“My priority will be implementation of the agreement that Belgrade and Pristina reached in Brussels and the formation of Community of Serbian municipalities (ZSO),” says Branimir Stojanovic, new Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo. In a first interview after appointment for the Deputy PM, Stojanović says that the joint participation of all relevant Serbian factors will be the key to success, since so far they functioned separately.
In addition to the ZSO, which problems will be in your focus?
Issues related to the privatization, the confiscated property (even from 1945-46 and which was subsequently registered on the names of the new owners; only in Gracanica there are 170 such cases), problems with car insurance … In Pristina there are 14 agencies in which are employed to me unknown Serb representatives. It is important to coordinate between local and central government, so that the Serbs would have the unique position.
Did you have discussions about positions of the second person in the Kosovo Intelligence Service and deputy commander of the Kosovo Security Forces?
That will be discussed later.
Do you have any indication when the Brussels negotiations will be resumed and who will participate in them?
We need negotiations. They have no alternative and no matter how difficult and unpleasant, they will be continued. During negotiations the situation in the field was the quietest. Whenever the negotiations were interrupted, there was a problem. What I can now say is that the technical negotiations in Brussels will lead more or less the same people, with a few changes, but the personnel composition is not as important as it is important to continue the dialogue, in order to solve open problems.
Were the passions among the MPs from the Serbian List settled, after problems with the election of Vice-President of the Assembly of Kosovo?
The Serbian list is composed of a number of parties. It is normal that sometimes comes to disagreements, but it is important to maintain the unity and joint action, which I believe will be held.
Resumption of negotiations
“So far, the date for continuation of the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, is not set. However, according to the statement of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, the implementation of agreed solutions must continue, since it is not finished yet,” says Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson of the High Representative. According to some reports from Brussels, it was envisaged that the continuation of political negotiations will be scheduled before the meeting of the EU Council next week, but Kocijancic stated that it will not happen so quickly.
