EULEX-MUP protocol in best interest of Serbia

Kosovo Minister Goran Bogdanovic said that the protocol to be signed between EULEX and Serbia will confirm that the EU has not recognized Kosovo independence. Bogdanovic told daily Vecernje Novosti that the text of the agreement for cooperation between the EU Kosovo mission and the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) has been confirmed and Belgrade officials are waiting for an official date for the signing of the protocol. EULEX-MUP protocol in best interest of Serbia “It is a protocol for technical cooperation between the two police forces and represents a continuation of the existing cooperation between our police and UNMIK police based on an agreement signed in 2001,” Bogdanovic said. He said that he is not surprised with the strong reactions coming from Albanian officials in Pristina, “especially because they are trying to impose an illegal independence of the province at all costs.” "The most important point is that the agreement is to be signed with EULEX, not the Kosovo institutions, which enables the Serbian government to clearly confirm that it does not recognize them,” Bogdanovic said. The minister said cooperation between the Serbian MUP and EULEX police is “inevitable” when it comes to stopping the large amount of criminal activity in the province and improving the rule of law. Bogdanovic said that “with this document, the EU is confirming Serbia’s integrity even on the areas that our country does not have full control over. The act of signing this agreement means that instead of our institutions, EULEX will be taking over some the authorities of the police, which is in everyone’s best interest. Because, if the spreading of crime in Kosovo is not stopped, it will spill over to other European countries.” Referring to visa liberalization between Serbia and the EU, he added that Serbs in the province “will not be left out, nor will the Albanians that declare themselves as Serbian citizens, because our country will do everything to stop the discrimination of its citizens.”

EULEX-MUP protocol in best interest of Serbia

“It is a protocol for technical cooperation between the two police forces and represents a continuation of the existing cooperation between our police and UNMIK police based on an agreement signed in 2001,” Bogdanović said.

He said that he is not surprised with the strong reactions coming from Albanian officials in Priština, “especially because they are trying to impose an illegal independence of the province at all costs.”

"The most important point is that the agreement is to be signed with EULEX, not the Kosovo institutions, which enables the Serbian government to clearly confirm that it does not recognize them,” Bogdanović said.

The minister said cooperation between the Serbian MUP and EULEX police is “inevitable” when it comes to stopping the large amount of criminal activity in the province and improving the rule of law.

Bogdanović said that “with this document, the EU is confirming Serbia’s integrity even on the areas that our country does not have full control over. The act of signing this agreement means that instead of our institutions, EULEX will be taking over some the authorities of the police, which is in everyone’s best interest. Because, if the spreading of crime in Kosovo is not stopped, it will spill over to other European countries.”

Referring to visa liberalization between Serbia and the EU, he added that Serbs in the province “will not be left out, nor will the Albanians that declare themselves as Serbian citizens, because our country will do everything to stop the discrimination of its citizens.”