“Regarding the draft statute of the Association of Serbian Municipalities, I can only recall that a new balanced European proposal for the establishment of the Association of Municipalities was presented to relevant partners by the EUSR for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue [Miroslav Lajčák] during his visit to the region at the end of October and it was subsequently discussed with both Parties during the Leaders’ meeting in the margins of the European Council last month.”

Stano has disclosed the reasons why the EU has not made public the contents of the association’s draft statute.

“The EU proposal has not been made public since diplomatic efforts are ongoing. We never pass on official documents that are being discussed and expect the same from the partners, as it is normal practice in international mediation to conduct the process in confidentiality. It is also our longstanding policy not to comment on alleged leaks or media reports claiming to have seen or published the document.”

However, he has not given a clear position on whether the EU has any assessment which party in the dialogue process is not implementing the Brussels and Ohrid agreements.
Both Kosovo and Serbia are aware that implementing these agreements is crucial for their path to EU integration, Stano said.
/sm/