Pristina tells EU of its conditions before implementing deal

Pristina tells EU of its conditions before implementing deal

The establishment of the ZSO was agreed on during the EU-sponsored Belgrade-Pristina dialogue held in Brussels.

The government of Kosovo has sent the EU a report which states that has been "no progress in implementing what has been agreed in the Brussels agreement," and that "Serbia was blocking the process."

As stated, "Kosovo has been effective in fulfilling its obligations and fully cooperated with the EU to push forward the agreements’ implementation process - however, the same does not apply to Serbia which virtually blocked the process of implementation by not making any significant moves in fulfilling its assumed obligations."

"This particularly in reference to the agreement on the country code for Kosovo and the agreement on the independent operation of the Kosovo energy transmission system (KOSTT), both blocked by Serbia," the government in Pristina said in a press release, adding that "in response to these delays, Kosovo has not yet commenced any implementation steps with regards to the Agreement on Association (ZSO)."

"In response to Serbia’s blockades, Kosovo has made it clear that no implementation actions will be made in relation to the Agreement on Association of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo, before Serbia removes the blockades on the dialing code for Kosovo and KOSTT’s independent operation as well as the removal of barricade from the Mitrovica Bridge," Pristina said, adding:

"The government of Kosovo asserts that once the above mentioned blockades are removed, we will duly implement our obligations regarding the implementation of Association Agreement. The Association shall not have any executive power and shall not be a third level of governance, considering that the Kosovo Constitution nor respective Kosovo Laws do not provide for any of such competences."

"Consequently, the statute of the Association shall be in accordance with the Kosovo Constitution and Law and the Decision of the Kosovo Constitutional Court of December 26, 2015," the statement said.

Pristina also noted that it "made it clear that the establishment of the Association is conditioned with the full and verifiable dismantlement of Serbia’s remaining parallel structures in Kosovo. Association cannot be established under still ongoing paradoxical situation when both legal and illegal municipalities are yet operational in northern Kosovo."

Pristina also accused Belgrade of "continuing to support the activities of its parallel structures in Kosovo municipalities," which it said was in violation of the 2013 Brussels agreement on normalization of relations "between the two states."