By Agnes Szucs
BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Union on Wednesday urged the visiting leaders of Kosovo and Serbia to “take responsibility” and implement an EU-brokered deal to normalize bilateral relations.
“It is time to start implementing the Agreement on the path to normalization in earnest,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on X/Twitter, as he welcomed Kosovo’s Premier Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels for the latest talks under an EU-led dialogue.
“We will see if they are ready to take responsibility,” Borrell added, referring to the how the two countries have yet to start applying the deal Vucic and Kurti struck in March.
The EU-brokered agreement implies, among other points, the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state by Serbia, which high-ranking Serbian officials ruled out shortly thereafter.
Tensions rose so high in May in Northern Kosovo following municipal elections in ethnic Serb-dominated areas that NATO decided to deploy 700 more troops in the peacekeeping KFOR mission after 93 of its soldiers were injured.
Launched in 2011, the EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue aims to normalize relations between the two Balkan neighbors and to find a mutually agreeable solution to disputes within the framework of a legally binding agreement.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, with most UN member states, including the US, UK, France, Germany, and Türkiye, recognizing it as an autonomous country.
Serbia, however, still considers Kosovo its territory.