MEPs have told the outgoing European Union envoy, Miroslav Lajcak, that the unbalanced approach to the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has negatively affected the process, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's sources in the European Parliament said.
On January 30, Lajcak held a farewell meeting with members of the European Parliament in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, with whom he discussed his five-year mandate as the bloc's envoy for the dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Radio Free Europe sources said that during this meeting, held behind closed doors, most MEPs were critical of the way the EU has approached the parties in the dialogue and in general in the relations of the states with the bloc.
It is learned that during this debate, the majority of EP members expressed that the punitive measures that the EU has imposed on Kosovo and at the same time there have been no measures against Serbia, especially after the armed attack in Banjska in 2023, have negatively affected the dialogue mediated by the EU.
In September 2023, a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in Banjska, Zvečan, killing a sergeant. Three other Serb attackers were also killed in the exchange of fire.
Kosovo has blamed Serbia for the attack, but Belgrade has denied involvement. Kosovo is seeking the extradition of Milan Radoicic – the former politician and businessman from northern Kosovo who has claimed responsibility for the attack in Banjska – from Serbia, where he is believed to be. The EU, as well as the United States, have reiterated their call for those responsible for the attack to face justice.
MEPs, during their meeting with Lajcak, once again called for the lifting of the measures - imposed on Kosovo in 2023 due to tensions in the Serb-majority north of Kosovo - and a balanced approach by the EU.
Senior officials in Kosovo, including President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti, have repeatedly criticized Lajcak and former EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell for bias in the dialogue and have simultaneously called for the lifting of punitive measures.
According to sources, it is learned that Lajcak agreed with the MEPs' finding that the measures against Kosovo should have been lifted and he had requested such a thing immediately after the attack in Banjska, but it was justified that their lifting was not in his hands, but a decision that belongs to the member states.
Lajcak's mandate ends on Friday, January 31, and the mandate of the new envoy for the dialogue, Danish diplomat Peter Sorensen, begins the day after.
Lajcak, in a meeting with MEPs, is reported to have expressed that the EU should play a leading role in facilitating dialogue and overall engagement in the Western Balkans region.
During Lajcak's five-year mandate as mediator in the dialogue, the parties reached the Agreement on the Path to Normalization of Relations and the Implementation Annex reached in 2023.
Lajcak, as REL learns, admitted in the meeting with MEPs that there has not been the progress he expected regarding the implementation of this agreement.
The 11-article agreement, among other things, provides for a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo, mutual recognition of state symbols, so that Serbia does not block Kosovo's membership in international organizations, and requires Pristina and Belgrade to also implement all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.
The parties have agreed on the agreement but have not signed it. However, the EU says the deal is legally binding on Kosovo and Serbia./ REL (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
