"EC conclusions are plan for northern Kosovo"

BRUSSELS -- Catherine Ashton "does not have her own plan for solving the situation in northern Kosovo, but relies on the European Council conclusions in her mediation".

Catherine Ashton (Beta, file)

This is according to the EU foreign policy chief's spokesperson Maja Kocijancic, who spoke for Tanjug on Tuesday.

She denied claims by media from Priština that Ashton would present her own plan for northern Kosovo during the next round of the talks and said that the European Council conclusions were Ashton's plan for the north.

The European Council adopted the conclusions late last year stating all the things Belgrade and Priština have to do for Serbia to get the start date for the accession talks with the EU and Kosovo the option to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement.

The requirements include implementation of all the agreements signed so far, agreements on energy and telecommunications and the beginning of dismantling of "parallel institutions" in northern Kosovo.

Kocijancic confirmed that the technical dialogue in Brussels will start on January 10, while the meeting between Ivica Dačić and Hashim Thaci facilitated by Ashton is set for January 17.

The EU expects the technical dialogue to focus on preparing for the next round of the political talks, she noted.

"There are no problems so far in implementing the agreement on Integrated Border Management, and the four crossings opened so far are working normally," she stated.

Dačić and Taci Thaci continue in January their negotiations on implementing the agreements reached so far and on the situation in northern Kosovo, Kocijancic said, but she was unable to give any further details on the agenda for the meeting.