‘Germany pressures Serbia over Kosovo’

Danas, 28 June 2013

On June 27, the German parliament endorsed a declaration proposed by the ruling majority, recommending “negotiations on Serbia’s accession to the EU should begin in January 2014”, if there is a consensus at the European Council meeting in December 2013 that “Belgrade has ‘fully and permanently’ fulfilled its obligations with regard to the normalisation agreement with Pristina”, reportsDanas.

‘Two Germanys Model’ Suggested for Kosovo

In 1972, during the height of the Cold War, East and West Germany signed the Grundlagenvertrag, or Basic Treaty.

The agreement established normal relations between two sovereign states and allowed both to join the UN without addressing issues of German national identity or unification.

Kosovo Talks End Without Agreement

DAN BILEFSKY

PARIS — Marathon talks aimed at overcoming ethnic divisions in Kosovo ended without an agreement on Wednesday, dealing a potential blow to Serbia’s aspirations to join the European Union and undermining hopes of improved stability in the Balkans.

KOSOVO: ‘Government adopts Ashton Plan for North’

Koha Ditore, 28 March 2013

On March 27, Pristina adopted an eight-point plan, proposed by European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, which is designed to regulate collaboration with Serbian-run local governments in Northern Kosovo.

First proposed on March 21, the Ashton plan defines the terms and conditions under which the local governments can take charge of specific duties, and rules for cooperation between them.

BALKANS: ‘Belgrade and Pristina reach agreement’

Blic, 14 March 2013

Citing EU sources, the daily reports that Serbia and Kosovo have reached agreement on the creation and powers to be given to a group of Serbian-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo.

Serbia’s relations with Kosovo are the main obstacle to the start of formal negotiations on the country’s accession to the EU.

Kosovo and Serbia Presidents Due For Historic Meet

The Presidents of Kosovo and Serbia will sit down at the same table on Wednesday for the first time since Kosovo declared independence in 2008 in order to "normalise" relations.

Atifete Jahjaga and Tomislav Nikolic are to meet Catherine Ashton, EU Foreign Policy Chief, in Brussels on Wednesday to symbolically back the ongoing dialogue between the two sides.

Serbian Prime Minister ‘Dačić: provisional agreement on customs taxes’

Politika, 18 January 2013

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić has met with his Kosovar counterpart Hashim Thaci in Brussels, under the auspices of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton. On Thursday night and in the early hours of Friday morning, the two men concluded an agreement on customs taxes to be charged at the border between their two states. The revenue generated will be used to create a special fund managed by the EU that will finance development in northern Kosovo, which is home to the country’s Serbian minority.

Serbia to Adopt Kosovo Platform in New Year

As Kosovo Serbs lend support to Serbia's 'platform' on Kosovo, the document is to go before parliament by January 7.

Bojana Barlovac BIRN Belgrade

After several hours of discussion, 150 representatives from the Serb-run north of Kosovo on Tuesday offered to support the Serbian government's official platform for Kosovo.

Belgrade Demands Self Rule for Kosovo Serbs

Belgrade seek broadest self rule for an 'Autonomous Community of Serbian Municipalities in Kosovo', Serbia's draft platform on Kosovo reads.

Bojana Barlovac, Edona Peci Beta Belgrade

Serbian authorities demand a high level of territorial and political autonomy for Serbian municipalities there, the platform on which the country's officials agreed on Sunday reads.

These include Strpce and Gracanica in central and southern Kosovo, and Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zubin Potok and Zvecan in the north.

NYT: That Crush at Kosovo’s Business Door? The Return of U.S. Heroes

Akos Stiller

American flags streamed recently above the main street of Pristina, Kosovo’s capital. One of the world’s newest countries, Kosovo separated from Serbia, with the support of the United States.

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Prime Minister Hashim Thaci is in a bind. His country’s largest and most lucrative enterprise, the state telecommunications company, is up for sale. The jostling among buyers is intense. Narrowing the bidders has hardly helped.

One bid is from a fund founded by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. Lobbying for another wasJames W. Pardew, the Clinton-era special envoy to the Balkans. Both former diplomats are among the Americans who hold the status of heroes here for their roles in the 1999 intervention that separated Kosovo from Serbia and created one of the world’s newest states.

UN Chief Hails 'Constructive' Kosovo Talks

BIRN Belgrade

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's quarterly report welcomes advances in Serbia-Kosovo talks and expresses hopes that it will lead to total normalisation of relations and lasting peace.

In his regular quarterly report, UN Secretary General encouraged Serbia and Kosovo to continue their EU-led dialogue and move ahead in applying existing agreements.

Kosovo: EU mission too expensive and inefficient

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 31 October 2012

"EU brought to task over Kosovo mission," comments French daily Le Figaro, regarding a report published by the European Court of Auditors concerning the European Union's management of the Kosovo crisis. The Auditors note "modest success in contributing to the capacities of the Kosovo police" and the "lack of progress" in fighting organised crime and corruption. They also point out the coordination problems between the European Commission and EULEX, the Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, the paper says. In short, the balance sheet shows "the limited effectiveness of EU assistance," the financial mismangement and the cruel lack of human resources of the mission, the paper notes.

Yet, Le Figaro stresses –

... on paper, the EU has gone the extra mile to support the rule of law in Pristina. Per capita, the Kosovars are the all-category champions of European aid [...] Brussels is spearheading two major operations there. One, led by the Commission, consists of traditional financial aid which has been reinforced. The other, led by the EU's diplomatic 'branch' – the EULEX mission – is responsible for, among other things, such sensitive issues as the police, the justice system and the customs service.

Thaci Urges EU to Seal Agreement With Kosovo

Kosovo PM tells Ashton the country wants to see its route towards EU membership formalized by the end of the year with a Stabilization and Association Agreement.

Kosovo's leader says he wants the European Union to formalize its relationship with the country by opening negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement - the first step towards eventual membership.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci made the call at a meeting with the EU’s High Representative, Catherine Ashton, in New York on Monday, when he asked Brussels not to delay the process with Kosovo.

Serbia Resists German Pressure Over Kosovo

New statement of German conditions for Serbia's further EU progress, related to Kosovo, revives tension between Germany and Serbia.

Belgrade

Oliver Ivanovic, Serbia's former state secretary for Kosovo, said German demands for Serbia to establish "a contractual relationship" with Kosovo were a red line that Belgrade could not cross.

The retort comes after Andreas Schockenhoff, a member of the German Bundestag and senior official of the Christian Democratic Union, CDU, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, said in Belgrade on Thursday that, before any EU accession talks started, Germany expected Serbia and Kosovo to sign a joint, legally binding statement on mutual relations, which would be implemented by the end of entry talks.