Kosovo dialogue resumes in Brussels

Kosovo dialogue resumes in Brussels

As announced by EU's external service, the two sides will seek to finalize agreements on the ZSO, energy, telecoms, and will also discuss freedom of movement on a bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica.

In Belgrade, it was announced that the case of Oliver Ivanovic will also be discussed at the negotiating table.

The new round of dialogue should bring an answer to the question of whether the two sides will agree that the ZSO should have executive powers. The positions on this issue are still quite far apart.

The stakes are high for both Belgrade and Pristina because on the agreement depends the pace of progress on the EU path of both sides, but despite that the only thing certain is that the Serbian negotiating team will not give up on the executive powers for the ZSO which have been promised to citizens, while at same that, at least in official statements, the Albanian side finds this unacceptable.

Belgrade has received signals from political circles in Brussels and Washington to expect provocations by Albanian politicians that would serve solely for daily political purposes.

It is also uncertain whether an agreement on the ZSO, if reached, will be only initialed or signed, while the situation could be somewhat more clear today, after working groups end their meeting in Brussels.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said yesterday that many, even Kosovo Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci, do not know what executive powers are, and that Serbia would not accept that Kosovo is a sovereign state like Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Director of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said the Belgrade delegation is traveling to Brussels with the goal of achieving the formation of the ZSO for the Serb people in the southern province.

"I believe that we will do absolutely everything so that an agreement is reached. We will continue to act constructively with the goal of the ZSO to be formed and our relationship toward that can hardly be called into question by anyone," said Djuric.

Kosovo Serbs also expect progress. They once again supported the government policy and urged Pristina and Belgrade to reach an agreement during their next meeting in Brussels.

Coordinator of the Steering Team for the establishment of the ZSO Ljubomir Maric expects an agreement on the framework and principles for the establishment of the ZSO and states that, in this case, the ZSO could be formed in the next few months.

Maric told Tanjug there are still points of contention, including the status of employees in the ZSO, financing and property - but points out the international community's approach is different now and that they expect the issue of the ZSO, which has been postponed since the first day of reaching the Brussels agreement, to be closed.

As reported by Pristina media, Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa announced earlier that an agreement on the ZSO will be signed in Brussels today, which is strongly opposed by the Self-Determination Movement - but categorical refusal to give the Community executive powers can still be heard from Pristina's authorities.

Some Kosovo media reported earlier, citing Kosovo Mustafa, that in addition to the one on the ZSO, three more agreements will be signed.

In any case - the speed of opening of negotiation chapters in the negotiations on Serbia's membership in the EU, as well as the signing of the SAA and visa liberalization which Kosovo Albanians hope for, will depend directly on the success of negotiations in Brussels on August 25.

That an agreement on the ZSO is the most pressing issue also for the EU was confirmed by European Parliament rapporteur David McAllister.

During his recent visit to Belgrade he repeated that both sides have obligations in this, not just Belgrade, and noted that compromise had almost been reached during the last round of talks in Brussels.

Political analysts in Belgrade and Pristina note that additional pressure of Washington and Berlin on Pristina may be required as dialogue resumes, primarily in terms of acceptance of the principles for the establishment of the ZSO which have already been harmonized by Belgrade and representatives of the European Union.

In particular, they are convinced that Albanians must agree that officials and employees of the ZSO have the status of "civil servants."

Otherwise, according to media reports, the Kosovo prime minister has practically already accepted that the ZSO is exempt of taxes and customs duties, while according to the text that has been agreed on so far, Serbia has unlimited right to finance the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija.

The Brussels document provides for concrete executive powers of the ZSO, and besides municipal jurisdictions, it includes supervision in education, health, urban planning, economic development, the return of IDPs.

The bodies of the ZSO, to which Pristina has agreed, will include president (representing the ZSO in the province and beyond), a council of 30 members (a political body made up of mayors, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, prominent citizens), the executive board (with seven members that will make operational decisions departmentally) and the Community's chief who will answer to the board.

In June, an agreement was reached on the call number for Kosovo, which respected almost everything Belgrade has asked for, and there was also an agreement in principle on Telekom.

However, although Pristina has effectively accepted everything proposed in relation with Telekom, they refused to sign the agreement on telecommunications adhering to the principle that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" - which is why EU foreign chief Federica Mogherini broke off negotiations at the time.

The negotiations today come after the strongly worded statements made by Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaci during a recent UN Security Council meeting, and after the Self-Determination Movement threatened to organize unrest.