PM: Serbia will do everything to reach compromise

FRANKFURT Serbia's PM Ivica Dacic says it would be bad if Serbia did not get a date for the start of the EU talks but that it “would not be the end of the world”. He told Frankfurt-based Serbian language daily Vesti that Belgrade would do everything to reach a compromise with Pristina and explained that a forming of a community of Serb municipalities would be the most optimal solution. PM: Serbia will do everything to reach compromise “If we do not get a date it will certainly bad for Serbia and I cannot say that it does not matter whether we will be the EU member state or nor but such news will not be the end of the world. If we do not manage to reach an agreement with Pristina, it will mean that there was no understanding on the other side,” Dacic said. When asked whether March 4, when the next round of the dialogue with Pristina is scheduled, was a D-Day for Serbia, he pointed out that he could not say that it was but added that the continuation of the dialogue was truly important for Serbia. The PM noted that this was a century-long problem that needed to be solved gradually with a compromise between two currently opposing stances. It is possible to solve the parallelism of institutions in northern Kosovo, according to Dacic. He said that it could be done through the forming of the community of Serb municipalities, that Pristina had accepted, but that Belgrade and Pristina disagreed regarding the nature of the community. “This is not about who would have control but whether it would be regional authority or a Serb self-government, how organs would be elected and what authority they would have, but also ties with Pristina and Belgrade. Pristina believes that the community should have only a coordinating function without executive authority,” the prime minister was quoted as saying. He added he agreed with EU High Representative Catherine Ashton that the two sides “are close to an agreement”. “However, we are still very far away from finding a solution when it comes to crucial issues. This is why I do not know whether the meeting on March 4 would really be D-Day since there will be more important dates in the following days ad months bearing in mind that Catherine Ashton should submit her report to the European Council in mid-April and the idea is to have some kind of agreement and plan of implementation of what we will agree on by then,” Dacic said. He criticized the fact that pressures had mostly been exerted on Serbia in the last several decades and said that he was not sure whether it was a consequence of a historical heritage or a “negative experience of European officials with previous Serbian negotiators that signed one thing and did the other.” “It takes two sides for every compromise and it is therefore necessary to exert the same pressures on Pristina,” he explained. The PM reiterated that the negotiations in Brussels were not about the province’s status and that Serbia would recognize Kosovo’s independence. He said that if an agreement was reached, it would be solved with a bill that would transfer some authorities to the Kosovo assembly and the community of Serb municipalities. Dacic believes that it is also important that the Serbian side has shown readiness to transform Serbian institutions in Kosovo in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1244. “This cannot be done until we reach an agreement what the institutions will be transformed into. That is why it is maybe important to stress that all concessions we are ready to make will not be valid if an agreement in general is not reached,” he explained. “Serbia is ready to include all Serbian institutions, the judiciary as well, in the Kosovo system and their authorities will stem from the Serbian Constitutional Law,” the prime minister noted. “That way we will not recognize that Kosovo is an independent state. But it cannot be realized if there is no community of Serb municipalities,” Dacic stressed. Ivica Dacic (Beta) Tanjug

PM: Serbia will do everything to reach compromise

“If we do not get a date it will certainly bad for Serbia and I cannot say that it does not matter whether we will be the EU member state or nor but such news will not be the end of the world. If we do not manage to reach an agreement with Priština, it will mean that there was no understanding on the other side,” Dačić said.

When asked whether March 4, when the next round of the dialogue with Priština is scheduled, was a D-Day for Serbia, he pointed out that he could not say that it was but added that the continuation of the dialogue was truly important for Serbia.

The PM noted that this was a century-long problem that needed to be solved gradually with a compromise between two currently opposing stances.

It is possible to solve the parallelism of institutions in northern Kosovo, according to Dačić. He said that it could be done through the forming of the community of Serb municipalities, that Priština had accepted, but that Belgrade and Priština disagreed regarding the nature of the community.

“This is not about who would have control but whether it would be regional authority or a Serb self-government, how organs would be elected and what authority they would have, but also ties with Priština and Belgrade. Priština believes that the community should have only a coordinating function without executive authority,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.

He added he agreed with EU High Representative Catherine Ashton that the two sides “are close to an agreement”.

“However, we are still very far away from finding a solution when it comes to crucial issues. This is why I do not know whether the meeting on March 4 would really be D-Day since there will be more important dates in the following days ad months bearing in mind that Catherine Ashton should submit her report to the European Council in mid-April and the idea is to have some kind of agreement and plan of implementation of what we will agree on by then,” Dačić said.

He criticized the fact that pressures had mostly been exerted on Serbia in the last several decades and said that he was not sure whether it was a consequence of a historical heritage or a “negative experience of European officials with previous Serbian negotiators that signed one thing and did the other.”

“It takes two sides for every compromise and it is therefore necessary to exert the same pressures on Priština,” he explained.

The PM reiterated that the negotiations in Brussels were not about the province’s status and that Serbia would recognize Kosovo’s independence.

He said that if an agreement was reached, it would be solved with a bill that would transfer some authorities to the Kosovo assembly and the community of Serb municipalities.

Dačić believes that it is also important that the Serbian side has shown readiness to transform Serbian institutions in Kosovo in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

“This cannot be done until we reach an agreement what the institutions will be transformed into. That is why it is maybe important to stress that all concessions we are ready to make will not be valid if an agreement in general is not reached,” he explained.

“Serbia is ready to include all Serbian institutions, the judiciary as well, in the Kosovo system and their authorities will stem from the Serbian Constitutional Law,” the prime minister noted.

“That way we will not recognize that Kosovo is an independent state. But it cannot be realized if there is no community of Serb municipalities,” Dačić stressed.