The director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian government, Marko Djuric, stated that Belgrade would not accept any alternative other than full implementation of the agreements signed in Brussels with the government of Pristina. This official stressed that Serbia is determined to pursue this issue until resolved and added that changes of the draft would not be accepted.

 The Council of Europe in cooperation with the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, organized an international conference in Pristina on the “Interpretation and implementation of the European Convention for human rights by the Constitutional Courts in Western Balkans.” In addition to the judges of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, those of the Constitutional Courts of Croatia, Albania and Montenegro also participated in the conference, whilst Serbian representatives failed to attend.

Dialogue with Pristina in Brussels will proceed at a technical level from the official start of the election campaign in Serbia to the formation of a new government, which can take up to two months and more.

The paper’s Brussels-based correspondent, Augustin Palokaj, writes today that  because of the election campaign, Serbia now can drag out even more the process of normalizing relations with Kosovo. “Serbia PM Aleksandar Vucic is in a favorable position, because there is nothing to lose for Serbia. Negotiations have started and chapters have been opened,” Palokaj writes.  According to the author, the international community should be more careful with Serbia and Vucic.

Serbia’s general elections are expected to be held also in Kosovo, and OSCE will be most probably requested to offer technical help.

There will be no local elections of Serbia, being that Brussels agreement obliges Kosovo Serbs to hold their elections according to Kosovo’s election system.

Head of the Council for Kosovo at the Serbian Assembly, Milovan Drecun, told Belgrade media that Serbia’s general elections will be held in Kosovo, no matter eventual obstacles by Pristina.

The US Embassy informed that neither the US Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby nor any other US official have ever connected recognition of Kosovo or its membership in the UN with Serbia’s membership in the EU.

The announcement of the Kosovo Minister for dialogue Edita Tahiri that Pristina wants to talk about the demarcation of the border between Kosovo and Serbia during 2016, Belgrade sees as a provocation which spoils the atmosphere of dialogue.

On this occasion, the Head of the Parliamentary Committee for KiM Milovan Drecun ruled out the possibility of talks on any borders during the Brussels dialogue.

The US influence is large in the region, especially in Kosovo, and Washington sees the European Union as a kind of competition, says Aleksandar Popov, from the Center for Regionalism, who points out that the US influence in the region can be seen both directly and indirectly.

Serbia is preparing to deploy its customs officers at the boundary line with Kosovo and already at the beginning of March this year. This will be done due to the smuggling in the North.

A Serbian confidential source told Tesheshi.com that the Government of Serbia made the decision after facing a lot of non-compliance with the procedures and smuggling carried out in the North, and it affects Serbian producers, whose products, through illegal routes, are returning back to Serbia.

Head of the European Commission Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport said that he was optimistic about the prospects of Serbia's membership in the EU, but that it's not up to him to say how long this process will last.

He says that the speed of the process depends "primarily on Serbia's ability to meet all expectations in all areas."

Davenport says that most probably chapters 25 and 26 will be closed faster (science and culture) because, as he says, Serbia has made much progress here.