Thewesternbalkans
The spokesperson of the European Commission, Peter Stano, said on April 2, that Kosovo must urgently implement the longstanding obligation to establish an Association of Serb-majority municipalities in the country and warned that it will face consequences on its path towards the EU if it fails to do so.
He assessed that the establishment of the Association is an obligation for Kosovo and “this has been reiterated several times by the European Union at the highest level, that of European leaders”.
Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement on the Association in 2013 and later in 2015 on the principles for its establishment.
However, in 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the agreement was not fully in line with the Constitution.
At the end of last year, the international community presented the parties with a draft statute for this association. The parties initially said they accepted it in principle, but have not taken any steps forward.
Stano reiterated that the establishment of the Association is linked to Kosovo’s progress in its aim to become part of the EU. “If Kosovo is not able to deliver in this direction, then it will not be seen as a positive signal that it wants to move on the path towards the normalization of relations [with Serbia], which is now linked to Kosovo’s progress on the path towards the EU,” he added.
Comment: The European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom continue to insist that Kosovo is obliged to establish the Association.
In an interview with Radio Free Europe (RFE) on March 19, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said he did not accept this draft statute.
