Reconciliation not possible without status solution

BELGRADE - A full reconciliation between Belgrade and Pristina is not possible without a solution for the status of Kosovo, says Ernst Reichel, the German special envoy for South-Eastern Europe, while the head of the EU Office in Kosovo Samuel Zbogar says that there is no agreement in the Union on Kosovo's status.

At a panel held as part of the Belgrade Security Forum, titled Serbs and Albanians in 2025 as friends and allies: How do we get there?, representatives of Belgrade and Pristina mostly spoke about the need to normalise relations, which they said is a pre-requisite for a better life for both Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

Reichel said that Serbia's EU accession talks will be concluded once the country meets all the conditions, including normalisation of relations with Pristina.

The process of normalising the Belgrade-Pristina ties runs parallel with Serbia's EU accession process, and that is what Berlin wants to maintain, Reichel said.

The head of the EU Office in Kosovo said that there is no agreement in the EU on the status of Kosovo, but that the implementation of the Brussels Agreement is a condition in Serbia's accession process as part of negotiation chapter 35, as well as for Kosovo's progress as part of the provisions of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

It might be exaggeration to expect Serbs and Albanians to become friends and allies, but the objective of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is to normalise relations, he said.

The goal of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is, most of all, normality - to achieve normal relations between Belgrade and Pristina, a normal possibility of EU accession for Kosovo, and a normal situation in Kosovo itself, he said.

Zbogar said...