The Ambassador of Sweden to Kosovo, Jonas Westerlund, asks Kosovo and Serbia to implement the Brussels Basic Agreement and the Ohrid annex, reached in 2023. He emphasizes the need for the Government of Kosovo to move forward with the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority. According to him, the Kosovar executive should send to the Constitutional Court the draft statute of the Association, drawn up by the European Union.
In an interview for KosovaPress, Westerlund also expressed support for Kosovo’s Euro-integration path in the European Union, as well as Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. He also talks about the situation in the north of Kosovo and the opening of the Iber bridge.
The Swedish diplomat says that the Brussels agreement and the Ohrid annex are legally binding for Kosovo and Serbia, so the obligations must be implemented without delay.
Westerlund for KosovaPress, also provides numerous models for how to establish the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.
As for the security situation in the north, the Swedish ambassador says that it is still fragile, while also talking about the terrorist attack in Banjska, last year.
However, he also considers it necessary for the Serbs to return to institutions in the north. According to him, it was a serious misjudgment of the Serbs in the north who did not participate in the local elections and in the referendum for the removal of the current mayors in the four northern municipalities.
Westerlund also says that the Iber bridge must be opened, but for such a thing the government must coordinate with the residents on both sides of the river and continue the dialogue.
He also gives an example of religious tolerance, while also mentioning the need to restore the mosque in North Mitrovica.
In addition, he declares that Kosovo will benefit greatly from the European Union’s Growth Plan for the countries of the Western Balkans. /E.Zeqiri/
