Kosovo Holds Out for 'Package Deal' with Serbia

Latest talks between Serbia and Kosovo brokered by the EU on June 29 ended with no signed agreements - but after Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin last week, reports have emerged that recent discussions in Brussels could result in new agreements.

A source in the Serbian delegation told BIRN that Belgrade was satisfied with some of the agreements reached in Brussels on June 29 - but no agreement was signed because the Kosovo side wanted everything signed in one package.

The new agreements are expected to resolve four key issues: telecommunications, energy, the Association of Serb Municipalities and freedom of movement between the Serbian and Albanian parts of the divided town of Mitrovica.

"The agreements on the Association of Serbian Municipalities and on telecommunications were not signed solely because the Kosovo delegation insisted that all four agreements should be signed at the same time," this source told BIRN.   

The long-awaited Association of Serbian Municipalities is intended to give Serbian majority municipalities in Kosovo powers over economic development, education, health, and urban and rural planning.

Kosovo's chief negotiator, Edita Tahiri, said Sunday that although an agreement on telecommunications had already been signed, a package agreement needed to address all four issues.

"The agreement on telecoms has been reached. The two other topics were discussed but our delegation has insisted on an Agreement Package, so that all differences... can be overcome," Tahiri said.

According to her, the biggest challenge is the Association, which Belgrade says should have executive powers, which Pristina is equally strongly against.

Prime Minister Mustafa of Kosovo...