Lajcak acknowledges that Pristina has not yet fulfilled its commitment to establish the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM) in Kosovo, as stipulated in the 2013 Brussels Agreement. However, the European official notes that the obligations of Serbs and Kosovars should be in the same basket. This means that the formation of the SMS must be carried out in parallel with the return service from Belgrade. In particular, the EU wants Belgrade to encourage Kosovo Serbs to return to Kosovo’s institutions of power.
Meanwhile, Vecherne Novosti rightly recalls that the Kosovo Serbs withdrew from Kosovo’s institutions precisely because Pristina has openly flouted its obligation to create the SMS for ten years. Based on this, the publication states that it is the Kosovars who must take the first step. The publication quotes the opinion of former Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic. In his opinion, the creation of the SMS is doomed to failure, as this is just Western bait for the Serbian authorities.
“The protection of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija must not be in the hands of others. Any negotiating framework that does not fit within the framework of resolution 1244 (UN Security Council resolution – author’s note) and the Constitution of Serbia – including the Franco-German, that is, the Scholz, Macron plan, contrary to the centuries-old interests of Serbia and its future,” Yovanovitch quoted the publication as saying.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the self-proclaimed Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti are expected to hold regular talks in Brussels on February 27. The event will be mediated by the EU, which hopes to convince the conflicting parties to accept the recently announced Franco-German plan. At the same time, this plan completely ignores the interests of the Serbs and only aims to realize the interests of the Kosovars.
Therefore, the Serbs are required to stop obstructing Pristina on the way to join the UN and other international organizations. In a blatant mockery, European officials point out that Belgrade may not recognize Kosovo, but must recognize its right to join the global family of states. Another condition is the end of the Serbian campaign to expand the number of countries that do not recognize Kosovo.
