The interest of Serbia is to pass, as soon as possible, from the phase of talks in Brussels to the talks on joining the EU, said the president of the Forum for Ethnic Relations, Dusan Janjic.
Visiting the RTS, Janjic said that in order to open chapters in Brussels on 23 June, would be enough to "take off" the remaining four points of the 11, the Community/Association of Serbian municipalities, telecommunications, energy and Peace Park.
Pristina and Belgrade working groups met yesterday in Brussels to discuss issues relating to telephony. Head of Kosovo delegation, Edita Tahiri, said the parties discussed finalizing an action plan whereby Kosovo will receive an international dial code. She said there is agreement for mobile operators from Kosovo and Serbia to cooperate on roaming services and she also announced that a new telephony company will be temporarily licensed in Kosovo. At the conclusion of the meeting, the parties agreed to continue talks on 22 June.
After the 15 hours long negotiations on telecommunications, within the framework of the technical dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, was not reached an agreement on key issues, was stated from the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija.
Director of the Office of Media Relations, Milivoje Mihajlovic told RTS that Pristina should not delay the formation of the Community/Association of Serbian municipalities. He adds that only the essential solution could lead to peace.
"The community was supposed to be formed before the local election, then before the parliamentary elections ... All the time Pristina has managed to delay it. Last month they avoided talking about it, and now for the first time Pristina announced that there will be talks about it," says Mihalović for the RTS 1.
Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci said in a lecture at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) that Kosovo needed to diversify its foreign policy and focus not only on increasing the number of recognitions but also its membership in international organisations. He said however that Kosovos’ top priority is Euro-Atlantic integration. “We are also quite engaged on making the visa liberalization for our people happen as soon as possible as we are the last Balkans republic that cannot move freely to Europe”, said Thaci.
Kosovo’s Minister without Portfolio, Edita Tahiri, said on Thursday that in the coming days there will be intensive meetings on the issue of dialogue. Tahiri also mentioned some of the main topics that would be discussed during the dialogue. According to her, one of the topics might be the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities.
Mitrovica Mayor Agim Bahtiri met yesterday the EU office in Pristina’s coordinator for dialogue on the north, Boyd Mckechnie. The two discussed preparations for the meeting of the working group on freedom of movement in Mitrovica that is set to take place on 17 June in Brussels. The Brussels meeting will also be attended by the Mitrovica North Mayor Goran Rakic and will focus on finding concrete solutions to the movement along the main River Iber bridge.
Next week delegations of Belgrade and Pristina will have the last chance to finalize agreements, on technical level, on telecommunications, energy, as well as to start with talks on Community/Association of Serbian municipalities (ZSO). On 23 June, in a dialogue between two premiers, Vucic and Mustafa will be able to sign and therefore seal the final agreements.
According to Vecernje Novosti, on Monday would be discussed telecommunications, Tuesday and Wednesday are set for the talks on the ZSO, and energy on 18 June.
Political dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade will resume in Brussels on 23 June with a meeting of prime ministers, Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vucic. The meeting was confirmed by Kosovo government spokesperson Arban Abrashi. According to Abrashi, the topics of the meeting include telecommunications, energy and the removal of the so-called Peace Park in Mitrovica. Sources said that the association/community of Serb municipalities will also be discussed in the meeting.
The next round of Kosovo talks on June 23 "will be crucial for normalization of relations and opening of (EU) negotiating chapters for Serbia this year."
This is what European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister said in Belgrade on Monday.
"In order to open the first chapter this year both sides will have to demonstrate progress and the next round of dialogue in Brussels will be crucial for normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina," he said at the Serbian Economic Summit, according to a Beta agency report.