New Brussels round, European proposal on the table: What's in 4th out of 10 points, what are "red lines"

Illustration: Nikola Jovanovic; Photo: Tanjug/AP/Presidency of Serbia

The high level dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, under the auspices of the European Union, continues today in Brussels. EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell, with the support of Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, will hold separate meetings with Aleksandar Vucic and Albin Kurti starting at 3 pm, after which a joint meeting will follow, the EU press service has announced.

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The topic of the meeting, as stated, is the EU proposal on normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, reports RTS.

At the end, High Representative Josep Borell is planned to issue a statement for the media, according to the press release.

EU: Goal is for both sides to clearly accept European proposal

Borrell has said that the dialogue is at a crucial stage and that he hopes the parties will be constructive and take advantage of this unique opportunity.

The goal of the meeting is for both sides to clearly accept the European proposal on normalization of relations, said the mediator in the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

Ahead of the dialogue, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sent letters to the Presidency of Serbia and then to Pristina.

US expects constructive approach

The United States also expects constructive approach from Vucic and Kurti regarding the European proposal, the State Department said.

In conversation with the president of Serbia, State Department counselor Derek Chollet welcomed "Serbia's continued commitment to constructive engagement" and said that the previously signed agreements should also be implemented, which includes the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO).

ZSO priority for Belgrade, red lines well known

For Belgrade, the priority is the ZSO, the formation of which Pristina is rejecting, while the red lines, as the head of state said earlier, are the recognition of the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo and allowing it to have a seat in the UN.

Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija see the essence of the negotiations in the implementation of the agreement (on the ZSO) reached 10 years ago. Expectations ahead of the new round of the dialogue were presented by the vice-president of the Serb List, Igor Simic.

Pristina: Good basis for further discussions

Pristina has also reiterated its position on the European proposal for Kosovo and Metohija. The local government, after a conversation between Derek Chollet and Albin Kurti, announced that the plan is a good basis for further talks towards normalization of relations.

What does the European plan contain?

The French-German, i.e. "European" proposal is a new negotiation framework in which Belgrade and Pristina should find a solution to the Kosovo and Metohija issue, President Vucic announced earlier and confirmed that it requires Belgrade to accept Pristina's membership in the United Nations.

The plan, which the public is not fully informed about, contains 10 points.

The most difficult part is point 4, which states that "Serbia will not oppose Kosovo's membership in any international organization," Vucic recently told a session of the National Assembly dedicated to Kosovo, but he said that he was not in favor of Pristina in the UN and that he will never recognize the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

Vucic and Kurti previously met in Brussels in November. Since then, preparations have been ongoing for a new meeting, during which EU and US officials have visited Belgrade and Pristina several times.

(Telegraf.rs)