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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Pristina commits to implement activities to establish Community of Serb Municipalities

Belgrade, 19 March 2023

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic stated today at a press conference after the talks in Ohrid that Serbia is ready to work on the implementation of the proposal on the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina up to its red lines, which refer to opposition to the recognition of independence of Kosovo and opposition to the admission of Kosovo to the UN.

Speaking at the Palace of Serbia, Vucic underlined that he did not sign any document in Ohrid because the Republic of Serbia is a recognised state under international law, whereas Kosovo is not.

I did not sign anything because I do not want to make international legal agreements with Kosovo, I take care with great discipline of every word I say, it is difficult to prove that an agreement exists without a signature, but I speak unequivocally about Serbia's red lines in every place, the President of Serbia reiterated.

He said that yesterday's talks in Ohrid, like all others, are never easy because the parties often have conflicting interests.

Vucic pointed out that it is important that we no longer depend only on Pristina's goodwill, which is a positive change in the negotiation framework, but also on what we are ready to do.

The President underlined that Pristina undertook to implement activities on the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities.

He read the Implementation Annex to the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which was agreed upon after the talks in Ohrid, stating that it constitutes an integral part of the Agreement and that according to it, Kosovo and Serbia commit to implement all their respective obligations expediently and in good faith.

The President underlined that the Parties take note that the Agreement and the Implementation Annex will become integral parts of the respective EU accession processes of Kosovo and Serbia.

It is added that the Parties also note that immediately after the adoption of the Agreement and this Annex, the EU Facilitator will start the process to amend the Chapter 35 benchmarks for Serbia to reflect Serbia’s new obligations stemming from the Agreement and this Annex.

The agenda of Kosovo’s Special Group on Normalisation will equally reflect Kosovo’s new obligations stemming from the Agreement and this Annex. The Parties agree to endorse the Declaration on Missing Persons, as negotiated under the EU-facilitated Dialogue, as a matter of urgency.

To implement Article 7, Kosovo launches immediately negotiations within the EU-facilitated Dialogue on establishing specific arrangements and guarantees to ensure an appropriate level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo, in compliance with relevant previous Dialogue agreements as determined by the EU Facilitator.

It is further stated in the Annex that the Parties agree to set up a Joint Monitoring Committee, chaired by the EU, within 30 days. The implementation of all provisions shall be ensured and supervised by the Joint Monitoring Committee.

To implement Article 9, the EU will organise a donor conference within 150 days to set up an investment and financial aid package for Kosovo and Serbia and no disbursement will happen before the EU determines that all provisions of the Agreement have been fully implemented.

It is also stated in the text that Kosovo and Serbia agree that all Articles will be implemented independently of each other and added that the order of the paragraphs of this Annex is without prejudice to the order of their implementation.

It is also said that Kosovo and Serbia agree not to block implementation of any of the Articles.

All discussions related to implementation of the Agreement will take place under the EU-facilitated Dialogue.

According to the Annex, Kosovo and Serbia recognise that any failure to honour their obligations from the Agreement, this Annex or the past Dialogue Agreements may have direct negative consequences for their respective EU accession processes and the financial aid they receive from the EU, it is concluded in the document.