The European Commission will ask Kosovo and Serbia to, without delay, take steps to implement the Agreement towards the normalization of relations between them, known as the Ohrid Agreement, as well as other obligations, resulting from the dialogue process, reports Radio Free Europe.
This order is included in the draft Progress Reports for both Kosovo and Serbia, which will be approved in Brussels at the end of this month.
In the draft reports, it is stated that Kosovo and Serbia have participated in the dialogue, but they are required to demonstrate more seriously and constructively their commitment to move forward.
Kosovo and Serbia are requested to avoid inciting actions and rhetoric that endanger stability and are not compatible with dialogue and reconciliation."The process of normalization [of relations] continues to be affected by the lack of sufficient steps by Serbia to ensure accountability and bring to justice those responsible for the violent attacks by armed Kosovo Serbs against the Kosovo Police on September 24 , 2023, in Banjska, which were the most severe escalation in recent years", this draft document states.
It demands that Serbia fully cooperates and undertakes the necessary measures to catch and quickly bring to justice the perpetrators of these attacks.
The European Commission requests that the parties in the dialogue respect the Agreement on official visits, enable the visits of chief negotiators to the territory of each other's countries, as well as the participation of Kosovo in regional initiatives.
The European Commission also with this annual document calls on Kosovo to start the procedure for the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.
It requires that the draft statute proposed by several European countries, which was submitted to the parties in October 2023, be the basis for this.
Meanwhile, for the proposal that was submitted by the management team, made up of Kosovo Serbs, it is said that it was not in accordance with the dialogue agreements, so it is requested that the so-called "European proposal" be taken as a basis.
In the draft report on Serbia, it is stated that the obligations for the implementation of the Agreement on the path to the normalization of relations are a formal part of the negotiating framework for Serbia's membership in the EU, in chapter 35.
The enlargement package and Progress Reports for ten countries in this process will be approved at the European Commission meeting on Wednesday, October 30, in Brussels.