The chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia, Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic, are on October 24 in Brussels for the new round of talks in the dialogue facilitated by the European Union for the normalization of relations between the two neighboring states.

As has happened in the past, today it is expected that the new round will start with bilateral meetings of separate delegations with the EU's special envoy for dialogue, Miroslav Lajçak, and then, if there is a will from the parties, it can the tripartite joint meeting should also take place.

Even the EU spokesperson, Peter Stano, speaking a day before the meetings within the dialogue, said that "the choreography will be usual, the EU always intends to have tripartite meetings, but this will depend on the will of the parties ".

At the last meeting in September, Lajcak failed to convince Bislim and Petkovic to hold a tripartite meeting, as they had disagreements on the topics they would like to discuss.

Regarding the topics that are expected to be elaborated in the meetings in Brussels, Stano said that they are related to the need to implement the obligations from the dialogue so far, including the Agreement on the road to the normalization of relations, which Kosovo and Serbia agreed on beginning of 2023.

"The agenda is the same as it was in the past, that is, the need for the urgent start of the implementation of the obligations from the dialogue. The need for the urgent start of the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement and the need for both Kosovo and Serbia to agree on progress in dialogue", said Stano.

So far, bilateral meetings have usually been held between the EU's envoy for dialogue, Miroslav Lajčak, and the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia, but no tripartite meetings.

The last time a tripartite meeting was held was the meeting on July 2 of this year. However, after the meeting, the parties came out with diametrically opposite positions about what had happened in the meetings. The parties had accused each other of "lack of readiness for dialogue".

In recent days, Lajçak has held consultations with the parties. But, apart from the assertions that the way forward in the dialogue is being examined, the EU - which mediates this process that started in 2011 - has not given details on which topics the parties will deal with in the next meetings.

In the EU, but also in NATO, more and more are expressing dissatisfaction with the current course of the dialogue, saying that the process is not producing the expected results. This is what the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, has stated, expressing concern about this.

The European emissary for dialogue, Miroslav Lajçak, has a mandate in this post until the end of January 2025. Meanwhile, the EU is waiting to see what approach to dialogue the new high representative for foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, will have. , after she takes office. Her mandate will start when the entire new team of the European Commission is ready, after it is confirmed by the European Parliament.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has stated that he expects new dynamics from the European Commission, as far as the dialogue is concerned./REL/