Surrender of Kosovo for EU membership

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

On Friday, April 19, 2013, Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaci and Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic initialed an agreement on the normalization of bilateral relations between Belgrade and Pristina, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Baroness Catherine Ashton said.

According to the agreement in Kosovo, the parallel system of power will be abolished (the old Serbian structures subordinate to Belgrade and do not recognize the jurisdiction of Pristina). Belgrade is not in a position to completely and immediately abolish these structures, but it deprives them of its recognition and, accordingly, of its support, including funding.

Thus, there will be only one police force - the Kosovo police. The judicial system (now the Serbian communities in the north of the region have their own, the Serbian judicial system) will be integrated and will operate in the legal system of Kosovo. Four communities in the north of Kosovo (North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Leposavici) will have their own regional police chief, whose candidacy will be proposed by the Serbian Interior Ministry. This is recorded in paragraph 9 of the agreement, which until today has been disputed by the Kosovar side. Keeping it unchanged is now being touted as a major victory for Serbian diplomacy.

The text of the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina itself is not yet available. It will be available to read after it is considered on Monday by the EU General Affairs Council.

Ivica Dacic said that the treaty reworded clause 14, which concerned Kosovo's membership in international organizations. According to Prime Minister Dacic, Serbia no longer hinders the European integration of Kosovo, but does not allow Kosovo's membership in the UN.

After the signing of the agreement, a meeting was held at NATO headquarters. In the presence of Catherine Ashton, the Serbian delegation received assurances that the Kosovar security forces would not be able to enter northern Kosovo, except in cases of natural disaster, but even then they would need the approval of both NATO and the local Serb communities.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee on Kosovo and Metohija affairs Milovan Dretsun says that this agreement in Brussels is "a difficult compromise for us", but it is not about recognizing the independence of Kosovo and Metohija.

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said the agreement guarantees the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo. "The treaty initialed between the two states represents de jure recognition of Kosovo by Serbia," Thaci told reporters. He also noted that the states that have not yet recognized Kosovo will do it as soon as possible and declared confidence in the imminent entry of Kosovo into the UN.

The chief of Kosovo diplomacy, Enver Hojay, said that the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina de jure means the recognition of the independence of Kosovo by Serbia. Kosovo recognized the extended rights of the Kosovo Serbs with this treaty, and Serbia pledged to disband illegal and parallel security structures in northern Kosovo, according to Enver Hojay. He also said that Serbia recognized the Kosovo police and justice system as the only security structure and thus recognized the Kosovo constitutional order.

Probably, the statements of the Kosovar politicians are more in line with the truth. But Serbian politicians in the Serbian media will try in every possible way to soften their actions and interpret the unambiguous wording of the treaty as if there was no recognition of independent Kosovo, since this is unacceptable for the broad masses of Serbian citizens. Moreover, the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia stipulates the inalienability of Kosovo as part of the territory of Serbia.

Opposition Serbian politicians are more outspoken. This is how the former Prime Minister and President of the country, and now the leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica, assesses this step differently. In his opinion, the authorities betrayed the country's interests and national interests in Kosovo and Metohija, and thus dealt a powerful blow to Serbia with terrible historical consequences.

The news of the signing of the treaty is covered with extreme caution by the Serbian media. Basically, direct speech is given, without comments. It is characteristic that the communities of the North of Kosovo have already declared their rejection of this agreement. It is the representatives of these communities that today are the reference point and newsmaker for patriotic Serbian organizations and citizens. The caution of the mainstream media in covering this issue is understandable. After all, careless coverage of this issue, which is extremely painful for Serbian citizens, can lead to difficult-to-predict consequences.