Leading EU countries call on Serbia to de facto recognize Kosovo

(Patria) - Germany, France, and Italy are asking Belgrade to de facto recognize Kosovo's independence, and Kosovo to form a community of municipalities with a Serbian majority.

This was stated in a letter signed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Joint Declaration

"In order to make rapid progress in implementation, we call on Kosovo to initiate the procedure for establishing the community of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo as stipulated in the draft Statute, and on Serbia to carry out de facto recognition.

The formalities related to the adoption of these positions should not stand in the way of progress on this issue," reads the joint letter from the three EU leaders.

This joint declaration comes after the leaders of the three key EU countries held separate meetings on Thursday with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.

In their joint declaration, they welcomed the "engagement of the parties" during the talks and stated that they are taking into account the comments of the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia, which relate to the European statute for the establishment of the community of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo and their expressed readiness for implementation.

Speaking about the draft statute of this community, which Pristina and Belgrade received during the visit of the so-called "Big Five" on October 21, the leaders of Germany, France, and Italy assess that it encompasses "a modern European way of resolving the sensitive issue of minority protection in line with the best European practices and standards".

Normalization of Relations

They underlined the expectations that both sides will fulfill their obligations regarding the implementation of the Agreement on the path to normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, reports RSE.

"The implementation phase should progress so that both sides simultaneously fulfill their obligations step by step, based on the principle that both sides must do something to get something.

The focus should now be on advancing the full implementation of the Agreement, without preconditions or delays," the joint declaration states.

It is added that they now expect Kosovo and Serbia to quickly agree on the details in the EU-led dialogue.

"In the absence of progress in the normalization of relations, both sides risk losing important opportunities," warned Scholz, Macron, and Meloni.

Kosovo and Serbia have been part of the dialogue for the normalization of relations, mediated by the EU, since 2011. The two countries have signed a series of agreements, but not all have been implemented.

In 2013, an agreement was reached on the community of municipalities with a Serbian majority, and in 2015 on the principles for its establishment. The Constitutional Court of Kosovo determined in 2015 that the agreement was not fully in accordance with the Constitution.

In February, Kosovo and Serbia reached the Basic Agreement for the normalization of relations in Brussels, while the Annex for its implementation was agreed upon in March in Ohrid, but the two sides did not sign either of these documents.