TIRANA, March 8/ATA/- Technical talks between Kosovo and Serbia, mediated by the European Union, began on March 8, 2011.
The beginning of talks came after the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 adopted a resolution from the then 27 EU countries, which paved the way for the start of dialogue, with the aim of insuring peace, security and stability.
The opinion of the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 2010 contributed to this, saying: Kosovo’s declaration of independence does not constitute a violation of international law.
The technical dialogue in 2011 was led by the Government of Kosovo, with Edita Tahiri at the helm of the negotiating team of Kosovo.
Although at the beginning it was announced that Kosovo will talk with Serbia only on technical issues, which are chaired by the technical teams of both countries, at the end of 2012, in addition to technical talks, negotiations began at the political level to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
The negotiations were conducted by the then prime ministers, Hashim Thaci and Ivica Dacic. The first agreement as part of this process was reached between the two prime ministers, in April 2013. Later on, the process of negotiations was brought to the level of presidents. Kosovo was represented by President Hashim Thaçi, while Serbia was represented by Aleksandar Vucic.
So far, over 23 agreements have been reached on dialogue at the technical and political level. The first agreement in 2011 was about civil registries.
In 2015, the parties reached the agreement on the dissolution and integration of the so-called “Civil Protection” in northern Kosovo, the agreement on mutual recognition of vehicle insurance policies, energy and the agreement on ADR certificates, while in January 2017 the agreement on the integration of the judiciary in northern Kosovo.
In November 2018, the Government of Kosovo led by Ramush Haradinaj imposed a 100 percent tax on goods from Serbia and Bosnia, stemming from demand for official Belgrade to recognize Kosovo.
Whereas, Albin Kurti, who led the Government of Kosovo for 51 days, in 2020 scrapped the decision on taxes and replaced it with reciprocity measures. After the fall of Kurti-led Government, Avdullah Hoti from the ranks of the KDM who was appointed PM revoked the decision on reciprocity.
The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue resumed on July 16, 2020 in Brussels, with a meeting between Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serb President Aleksandar Vucic, which focused on people unaccounted for and cooperation. While on September 4 in Washington, the Kosovo-Serbia agreement was signed, with the mediation of the US on economic normalization.
The agreement includes a number of economic projects, such as the construction of highway, railway line and the launch of Pristina-Belgrade flights. Under this agreement, the parties also agreed that the US conduct a feasibility study in Ujman.
After the parliamentary elections on February 14, 2021 in Kosovo, the leader of the winning party Self-Determination Movement, Albin Kurti, has announced that dialogue will be the fourth priority in his government, while EU Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak has said that he expects the meeting Kurti –Vucic to be held before summer.
/KosovaPress/sm/
