EU: Draft laws approved by Serbia related to Kosovo violate its commitments from the dialogue

2024-10-30 15:08:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

EU: Draft laws approved by Serbia related to Kosovo violate its commitments from

The European Union called on Serbia to reconsider the draft laws on Serbian judicial jurisdiction in Kosovo and on the declaration of Kosovo as a "special social protection area", assessing that such actions represent a violation of its obligations arising from the process of normalization talks. of relationships.

On Monday, the government of Serbia approved a draft law that declares Kosovo as an area of ??special social protection, which is said to regulate the rights to special social protection, as well as the draft law on the competence of Serbian judicial authorities in the prosecution of committed criminal offenses in the territory of Kosovo.

The spokeswoman of the European Union, Nabila Massrali, said that these actions are contrary to the commitments that Serbia has taken within the talks mediated by the bloc.

"Since the Brussels Agreement of 2013, Kosovo and Serbia have clear obligations regarding their respective jurisdiction. The draft laws of the government of Serbia, in the way they have been published, present clear violations of the obligations from the dialogue and are contrary to the newly expressed commitment to the dialogue", said Mrs. Massrali.

These draft laws were announced by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, on September 13, as a measure after the suppression of Serbian institutions by the Kosovo authorities in the north of the country.

The draft law on the competence of the judicial authorities, which, among other things, provides for the establishment of a special prosecution and a special court "to prosecute all those who participate in the persecution of the Serbian population in Kosovo", provoked strong reactions in Kosovo.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, in a post on social networks on Tuesday accused Serbia of making every effort to block the process of normalization of relations between the two countries, "violating the agreements, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo", he wrote.

Kosovo and Serbia have been involved in the dialogue mediated by the European Union since 2011 and despite reaching an agreement on the normalization of relations last year in Brussels and Ohrid, the parties are unable to agree on the ways of its implementation.

The latest meeting between the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels last week, from which the European Union said it expected the parties to agree on the implementation of the agreement, ended without any result.

Both sides continuously accuse each other of not being ready to implement the agreement. Serbia insists on the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, which is part of the agreement, while Kosovo accuses the Serbian side of insisting on the partial implementation of the agreement, evaluating this attitude as frivolous./ Voa