The European Union is not investing strong efforts to resolve the Kosovo-Serbia problem and stimulate reforms in the Western Balkans, but it still wants to stabilize the region, the Beta news agency was told at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
Diplomatic sources told the news agency that the EU’s strategic goal is the security, political and economic stabilization of the Western Balkans.
Eu foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini met on Tuesday in Brussels with the delegation for dialogue appointed by the Kosovo Assembly on December 15.
"The meeting was an opportunity for an exchange with the Kosovo representatives on the (Belgrade-Pristina) dialogue," the EU announced, adding that in this context, Mogherini "reiterated the urgency to revoke the customs tariffs (taxes on goods from central Serbia), announced by the Kosovo government at the end of last year."
Federica Mogherini on Thursday in Brussels hosted a meeting of the High Level Dialogue with the President Thaci of Kosovo and President Vucic of Serbia. This has been announced in a press release posed on the EEAS wesbite.
It added that "the European Union expects Serbia and Kosovo to swiftly deliver on their commitment to the dialogue given the direct link between comprehensive normalization of relations between them and the concrete prospects for their EU aspirations."
EU Spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic says that the policy of Brussels has not changed and that the asterix, which denotes status neutrality is used in all official documents referring to Kosovo.
"Our policy on this matter has not changed," Kocijancic told Belgrade-based news agency Tanjug.
Officials in the European Union believe that changing the format of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue would not speed up the settlement of the normalization of the relations of the two sides and would only take the power away; and instead of dealing with the essence, the engagement of the negotiators, at least for some time, would be about who could be involved in the dialogue, reports today N1 quoting Beta agency.
The Kosovo and Metohija Office announced that the Minister of Defense, Aleksandar Vulin, was banned from visiting Kosovo, reports Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).
The Office for KiM strongly condemned "the scandalous decision of Pristina and mediators in the Brussels dialogue'', reports RTS.
According to Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti, the task of EEAS Director Angelina Eichhorst will be to accelerate and intensify talks between representatives of Serbian authorities and provisional institutions in Kosovo, as well as the implementation of the agreements reached.
The Director of the Department for Western Europe, the Western Balkans and Turkey in the EU Foreign Service will be the key mediator in the next phase of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, reports the daily in today's edition.
Belgrade and Pristina decide about goals, pace and who participates or mediates in their dialogue about normalizing relations.
This stems from the explanation Beta received from sources in the European External Action Service (EEAS).
The Balkans is "one of four priorities" of EU's foreign policy, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said, Beta reported.
According to the EEAS website, Mogherini, speaking at the opening of the EU Ambassadors conference in Brussels, said that the Balkans was the organization's fourth priority.
"Still looking at our immediate neighborhood, but this is the file on which, as you know very well, we have more to lose and more to gain," she said.
Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Đurić held an emergency meeting in Belgrade today with senior representatives of EULEX regarding the more frequent attacks on Serbs and open threats of violence that arrive from extreme political and religious circles in the province, stated the Office for KiM.