Chief of the Austrian Diplomacy, Sebastian Kurz said he sees no added value in comparing situation in Catalonia and Kosovo, but dialogue with Pristina should continue as the progress in the dialogue is of high significance for Serbia’s path to the EU, Tanjug news agency reported.

Catalonian referendum on independence is an internal matter of Spain, and it has to be resolved within the Spanish Constitution, Kurz said to Tanjug.

“Spain is grateful to the Government of Serbia because it did not bring up that issue, as the President Aleksandar Vucic already explained,” stated Spanish Ambassador to Serbia, Miguel Fuertes Suarez.

The Spanish Ambassador made these remarks while commenting the information that Belgrade, following the plea of his country, postponed sending the letter to Brussels, asking for further explanation on the EU stance that Kosovo and Catalonia are incomparable, daily writes further.

*Op-ed by Filip Ejdus, speaker at the panel “The EU as a crisis management actor: CSDP in the neighbourhood” on the Belgrade Security Forum 2017.

In June 2016, the EU extended the mandate of the Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) until June 2018. While the fate of the mission after that date is still uncertain, the coming end of the current mandate provides an excellent opportunity to take stock of a decade long and over a billion € worth of EU investment in Kosovo’s rule of law.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic confirmed on Monday that she would not take Belgrade's letter to the EU to Brussels with her, when she travels there on Tuesday.

The letter regards the European Commission' stance on the recent independence referendum in Catalonia, and on Kosovo.

The statement of the Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić on establishment of working group for the second phase of the internal dialogue produces a certain ambiguities in the interpretation of this process, as it is not clear when the dialogue has started and how at all it can reach the second phase, writes daily Danas.

Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, said to RTS today that the letter on Catalonian referendum is prepared, he has signed it, however the PM Brnabic would not take it to Brussels tomorrow, but it would, as per request of Spain, be delivered at a later stage, in order not to deteriorate the situation in this country.

President Vucic, said at the press conference, that the PM Brnabic would sign the letter, seriously and thoroughly prepared, after the visit to Brussels and upon receiving the consent of the government.

Brussels did not provide convincing explanation, and I do not see how membership to the EU could influence international assessment of the declaration of independence, stated Serbian Academic and International Law Professor, Tibor Vardi to Politika daily.

The parallel between Catalonia and Kosovo is not simple, but it is also not without grounds, said Vardi, commenting on the stance of the European Commission saying Catalonia and Kosovo are incomparable, because Spain is an EU member state.

Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, would not give up sending the letter to the European Union and member states that have recognized unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, regardless of huge pressure exercised on him, Novosti daily reports today.

The Catalan regional government is planning to declare independence soon. However, it will not be able to refer to either international or the European law. The same thing as Kosovo did not become independent legally, but politically, Deutche Welle (DW) reported today.

Politika daily on its front page in today’s print edition, runs the article in which long-term judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Milenko Kreca expresses his opinion regarding Kosovo and Catalonia cases.

The difference that the EU makes between Kosovo and Catalonia is an expression of political interests that have no basis in the international law, Kreca said.