Brussels: Agreements will not be changed

BELGRADE Agreements reached by Belgrade and Pristina need to be implemented and not changed, Maja Kocijancic told daily Danas. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton’s spokeswoman said this commenting on announcements of Serbian officials that they will request changes to the Integrated Border Management Agreement. Brussels: Agreements will not be changed The agreement was reached on March 24 as a condition for Serbia to get the EU candidate status. Belgrade team chief Dejan Pavicevic said on Thursday that the implementation of the agreement would begin in about two weeks. However, northern Kosovo Serbs do not accept the Serbian government’s decision to implement the agreement. They have announced that they will launch an initiative before the Constitutional Court of Serbia to assess the constitutionality of the agreement. They will also request to meet with top state officials - Pavicevic, Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. Danas has learnt that the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) will soon submit the same request to the Constitutional Court. Mayors of four Serbian towns in northern Kosovo claim that they heard about the implementation of the agreement from media. They have announced they will request to see a letter on the implementation of the agreement that was signed by Pavicevic, adding that they will also request an explanation as to what it means. They also claim that it is completely “contrary to everything they heard from (Serbian government’s) Office for Kosovo Director Aleksandar Vulin and other government representatives who promised that they will work together and that they will be informed about all the moves made by Belgrade”. “The agreement is anti-Constitutional and against vital interests of the Serbian people. We will have to use personal documents and drivers licenses of the self-proclaimed state of Kosovo, which is a beginning of the assimilation. The implementation of the agreement would mean a factual recognition of Kosovo’s independence. This is why we have been protesting at the barricades against Albanian police and customs for the past year,” Serb National Council of Northern Kosovo President Milan Ivanovic told Danas. He noted that nothing had been explained to northern Kosovo Serbs. “(Deputy PM Aleksandar) Vucic is saying that those are international agreements that need to be respected but Kosovo is not an internationally recognized state. This is contrary to Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and President Tomislav Nikolic’s pre-election promises who claimed that he would annul the Brussels agreements. Nikolic promised that he would not hide behind ‘political anonymous’ Borislav Stefanovic and now he is hiding behind an even bigger one,” DSS MP Marko Jaksic pointed out. Kosovska Mitrovica District Head and Democratic Party (DS) member Radenko Nedeljkovic told the daily that the agreement on the border crossings was unacceptable and that the “northern Kosovo citizens are ready to peacefully stand up to its implementation”. The Jarinje administrative crossing (Beta, file) Danas

Brussels: Agreements will not be changed

The agreement was reached on March 24 as a condition for Serbia to get the EU candidate status.

Belgrade team chief Dejan Pavićević said on Thursday that the implementation of the agreement would begin in about two weeks.

However, northern Kosovo Serbs do not accept the Serbian government’s decision to implement the agreement. They have announced that they will launch an initiative before the Constitutional Court of Serbia to assess the constitutionality of the agreement. They will also request to meet with top state officials - Pavićević, Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić.

Danas has learnt that the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) will soon submit the same request to the Constitutional Court.

Mayors of four Serbian towns in northern Kosovo claim that they heard about the implementation of the agreement from media. They have announced they will request to see a letter on the implementation of the agreement that was signed by Pavićević, adding that they will also request an explanation as to what it means. They also claim that it is completely “contrary to everything they heard from (Serbian government’s) Office for Kosovo Director Aleksandar Vulin and other government representatives who promised that they will work together and that they will be informed about all the moves made by Belgrade”.

“The agreement is anti-Constitutional and against vital interests of the Serbian people. We will have to use personal documents and drivers licenses of the self-proclaimed state of Kosovo, which is a beginning of the assimilation. The implementation of the agreement would mean a factual recognition of Kosovo’s independence. This is why we have been protesting at the barricades against Albanian police and customs for the past year,” Serb National Council of Northern Kosovo President Milan Ivanović told Danas.

He noted that nothing had been explained to northern Kosovo Serbs.

“(Deputy PM Aleksandar) Vučić is saying that those are international agreements that need to be respected but Kosovo is not an internationally recognized state. This is contrary to Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and President Tomislav Nikolić’s pre-election promises who claimed that he would annul the Brussels agreements. Nikolić promised that he would not hide behind ‘political anonymous’ Borislav Stefanović and now he is hiding behind an even bigger one,” DSS MP Marko Jakšić pointed out.

Kosovska Mitrovica District Head and Democratic Party (DS) member Radenko Nedeljković told the daily that the agreement on the border crossings was unacceptable and that the “northern Kosovo citizens are ready to peacefully stand up to its implementation”.