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 2025 target date for Serbia’s European Union membership is not a reality, but it is not impossible either, Toby Vogel, a Brussels-based analyst told N1 Belgrade.
However, Vogel, Research Communications Officer from the Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) added there were considerable obstacles to overcome and that Belgrade would have to make a significant concession, while Pristina would not but would benefit from the situation because there was no balance of power between the two.
Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, commenting on Kosovo's withdrawal from the Brussels Dialogue, says that Pristina did not act independently, but with the tacit consent of Western partners.
"Where does this lead to? To not treat the dialogue seriously and to not form the Community of Serb Municipalities. Then it should be said," Stefanovic told in a press conference in the Palace of Serbia.
A possible meeting between Kosovo’s and Serbia’s presidents under the European Union’s auspices by June 25 could help Belgrade open new chapters in its accession talks with Brussels, a daily reported on Friday.
Serbia’s Minister for European Integration, Jadranka Joksimovic, told Danas daily she would present the country’s activities thus far regarding the chapters 23 and 24 related to the rule of law, next week.
The chairman of the Assembly's Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Milovan Drecun, told RTS on Saturday that the way Albanians want to define the statute of the Community/Association of Serb municipalities (ZSO) is contrary to the Brussels agreement, adding that the question is what will be written in the Statute. If it is unacceptable to Belgrade, there is nothing of that, says Drecun.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will seek an opinion from Brussels, before he presents his own proposal beginning of April, about what the EU leaders see as a possible compromise solution for resolving the issue of Kosovo, write today the Belgrade daily Danas.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic says that her government will provide any possible assistance in investigating the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, B92 reports.
In an interview for Radio Free Europe in the wake of the killing of the Serb politician in Kosovo, Brnabic pointed out that if Serbia was not allowed to participate in the investigation, it would launch one of its own.
Recent statements made by US State Department official Brian Hoyt Yee are "his views, that have not been not harmonized with the EU".
This is what EU sources in Brussels told Beta on Tuesday.
Yee was in Belgrade in late October when he said that that Serbia will not progress on its path toward the EU unless it gives up its ties with Russia.
The EP rapporteur for Serbia welcomed the initiative to launch an internal dialogue on Kosovo and added that Serbia's constructive approach is highly appreciated in Brussels, KIM radio reported McAllister’s statement to the daily newspapers Blic.
"Yes, I welcome the initiative of President Aleksandar Vučić to launch a domestic dialogue on this issue," David McAllister told daily Blic.
Leaders of the opposition DS party and the PSG movement, Dragan Sutanovac and Sasa Jankovic should travel to Brussels on August 24, Vecernje Novosti reported today.
The two opposition leaders will go there for a meeting with the European Parliament official and rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister.
According to the daily, apart from Jankovic and Sutanovac, another four opposition leaders - Boris Tadic, Cedomir Jovanovic, Sasa Radulovic and Vuk Jeremic - have all been invited to a joint meeting with McCalister.