Belgrade team head on second round of talks

The second round of talks between Belgrade and Pristina will begin on Monday, March 28 in Brussels. Birth, death and marriage registries, electricity and customs issues will be on the agenda. Belgrade team head on second round of talks “Some of the issues that will be discussed during the negotiations are registries, customs stamps but also Kosovo’s electricity supply,” Head of Belgrade's negotiating team Borko Stefanovic told B92. “Issue of regular electricity supply in Kosovo, especially in the enclaves that Serbs live in, will also be on the agenda of the second meeting in Brussels,” he pointed out. The Serbian team hopes that the electricity supply will be one of the issues that will be solved soon. The team also claims that this should not be seen as an opportunity for the Albanians to get the electricity as well, and that it should be seen as a solution to a long-term problem that Kosovo Serbs have been facing. “Solution to this problem should not be seen as allowing Hashim Thaci to get the electricity in his own apartment, like I saw some comments. That’s nonsense. This is about allowing our company Serbian Power Company (EPS) to exist in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, to be able to manage the potential and infrastructure. Opening of the electric energy issue includes solving ownership issue that will be hard to solve, but we are not afraid,” Stefanovic explained. According to him, the two teams will also discuss customs stamp, an issue that has been disputable for a long time. The Belgrade team head says that there is still no solution in sight. “Not a single proposal that does not clearly say that they are allegedly a state is acceptable to Pristina at the moment. It’s clear that it is unacceptable to us and that proves that these negotiations are not only technical, just like they prove that it is actually Pristina that insists on the status issues. That should be left aside. We gave some concrete solutions for the customs stamp’s design that would not prejudge the status and which would allow a normal communication, there are such solutions,” Stefanovic pointed out. Commenting on the claims of the Kosovo Albanian media that the two parties should close at least one issue by June, the head of the Serbian negotiating team said that it would be too easy. “There is no possibility to sign any sort of agreements with Kosovo that have elements of statehood, bearing in mind that we would this way recognize that Kosovo is an independent state and we don’t want that. All things will be sorted out through appropriate decisions of the two governments and through implementation of regulations of lower legal importance. We will do our best to solve all issues as soon as possible, we are not burdened by any deadlines, not June nor July is a limit,” he said. The first meeting between Belgrade and Pristina was held in Brussels on March 8 and 9. Borko Stefanovic (Tanjug, file) Pristina team head: Electricity will be on agenda Telecommunications and electricity will be discussed in the second round of Belgrade-Pristina talks, says head of Pristina’s negotiating team Edita Tahiri. Tahiri has stated that she will propose talks about the telecommunications and electricity issues. She told B92 that she expected continuation of talks about the issues that have been launched during the first meeting in order to reach some sort of solution. “One of the deals that should be reached is on the customs stamp issue, because there is a great asymmetry in trade relations. We have allowed import of goods from Serbia and Serbia still does not allow export from Kosovo, not even a transit of Kosovo goods to other destinations. Therefore, I think that it is extremely important that Serbia recognizes the stamp of the Republic of Kosovo. And the same goes for birth, death and marriage registries. We believe that they should be returned. We are asking for the original registries that were taken from Kosovo during the war, and the Serbian side has only offered to return copies. There has been some improvement. We have formed a mixed commission that will be led by EULEX and which will confirm authenticity of the originals and copies. I believe that an agreement on the issue could be reached in the second round of talks,” Tahiri stressed.

Belgrade team head on second round of talks

“Some of the issues that will be discussed during the negotiations are registries, customs stamps but also Kosovo’s electricity supply,” Head of Belgrade's negotiating team Borko Stefanović told B92.

“Issue of regular electricity supply in Kosovo, especially in the enclaves that Serbs live in, will also be on the agenda of the second meeting in Brussels,” he pointed out.

The Serbian team hopes that the electricity supply will be one of the issues that will be solved soon.

The team also claims that this should not be seen as an opportunity for the Albanians to get the electricity as well, and that it should be seen as a solution to a long-term problem that Kosovo Serbs have been facing.

“Solution to this problem should not be seen as allowing Hashim Thaci to get the electricity in his own apartment, like I saw some comments. That’s nonsense. This is about allowing our company Serbian Power Company (EPS) to exist in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, to be able to manage the potential and infrastructure. Opening of the electric energy issue includes solving ownership issue that will be hard to solve, but we are not afraid,” Stefanović explained.

According to him, the two teams will also discuss customs stamp, an issue that has been disputable for a long time. The Belgrade team head says that there is still no solution in sight.

“Not a single proposal that does not clearly say that they are allegedly a state is acceptable to Priština at the moment. It’s clear that it is unacceptable to us and that proves that these negotiations are not only technical, just like they prove that it is actually Priština that insists on the status issues. That should be left aside. We gave some concrete solutions for the customs stamp’s design that would not prejudge the status and which would allow a normal communication, there are such solutions,” Stefanović pointed out.

Commenting on the claims of the Kosovo Albanian media that the two parties should close at least one issue by June, the head of the Serbian negotiating team said that it would be too easy.

“There is no possibility to sign any sort of agreements with Kosovo that have elements of statehood, bearing in mind that we would this way recognize that Kosovo is an independent state and we don’t want that. All things will be sorted out through appropriate decisions of the two governments and through implementation of regulations of lower legal importance. We will do our best to solve all issues as soon as possible, we are not burdened by any deadlines, not June nor July is a limit,” he said.

The first meeting between Belgrade and Priština was held in Brussels on March 8 and 9.

Priština team head: Electricity will be on agenda

Telecommunications and electricity will be discussed in the second round of Belgrade-Priština talks, says head of Priština’s negotiating team Edita Tahiri.

Tahiri has stated that she will propose talks about the telecommunications and electricity issues.

She told B92 that she expected continuation of talks about the issues that have been launched during the first meeting in order to reach some sort of solution.

“One of the deals that should be reached is on the customs stamp issue, because there is a great asymmetry in trade relations. We have allowed import of goods from Serbia and Serbia still does not allow export from Kosovo, not even a transit of Kosovo goods to other destinations. Therefore, I think that it is extremely important that Serbia recognizes the stamp of the Republic of Kosovo. And the same goes for birth, death and marriage registries. We believe that they should be returned. We are asking for the original registries that were taken from Kosovo during the war, and the Serbian side has only offered to return copies. There has been some improvement. We have formed a mixed commission that will be led by EULEX and which will confirm authenticity of the originals and copies. I believe that an agreement on the issue could be reached in the second round of talks,” Tahiri stressed.