“Serbia does not need to fully meet the international community’s requirements and dismantle parallel structures in Kosovo,” said Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic. “Brussels’ request for Serbia to abolish all parallel institutions in northern Kosovo should not be accepted because that would mean that we are giving up our principles.”

While explaining his proposed new Kosovo policy, which has not yet been presented to the public, he said that the community/association of Serb municipalities should not be constituted in accordance with the laws of Kosovo. He added that it is possible for Serbia to take a new approach in relation to the four Serb-majority municipalities.

Political analyst Dusan Janjic recalled that the Serbian Government pledged to abolish parallel institutions by the end of 2013 according to the agreement signed in Brussels in April 2013. Janjic believes that President Nikolic never planned to implement the agreement. In that regard, the EU’s criticism of the Serbian Government for not implementing the Brussels agreement is justified.