Serbia refuses to sign an EU deal over Kosovo’s UN membership

President Vucic has shattered Belgrade’s hopes of approving the EU plan for Serbia-Kosovo relations because it includes allowing Kosovo to join the United Nations.

Despite assertions that Kosovo and Serbia had agreed to a European Union plan to normalize relations, Serbia’s President cautioned that he would not sign the agreement due to points about mutual recognition and Kosovo’s admission to the UN, the BalkanInsight reported.

“We are ready to negotiate the implementation plan, but I will not sign this,” Aleksandar Vucic declared on TV.

“That’s what I told [French President] Macron and [German Chancellor] Scholz in Munich, as well as all the other world leaders… “We cannot discuss mutual recognition or Kosovo’s admission to the UN,” Vucic stated.

Vucic said actual implementation of the guideline meant to be the annexe of the agreement – agreeing on what will be done – was acceptable, but Serbia “will not implement [Kosovo’s] accession to the UN”.

Vucic acknowledged that normalizing relations with Kosovo was necessary and said he is open to working on it. He also admitted that 99% of Kosovo Albanians support independence and that this will not change. “Let us reach rational agreements relevant to real life,” the President stated.

“But on the key problems surrounding the Constitution of Serbia, I have spoken it absolutely, publicly and everywhere. Why do you think I didn’t sign whatever they stated I would sign?” Vucic inquired about the right-wing opposition parties in Serbia that have accused him of treason.

He stated that the following talks with EU ambassador Miroslav Lajcak would be about the implementation strategy, adding that the pressure on Serbia will undoubtedly continue because, by March 24, when the European Council meets next, they will require a specific outcome.

Vucic stated that the proposed Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities in Kosovo, an organization representing Kosovo’s Serb majority, was agreed to in Brussels in 2013 but never executed. This was the most critical point in his action plan.

He is sceptical that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will implement it.

Following the meeting on Monday, the EU published the agreement on its website. The EU’s ambassador for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Lajcak, is set to visit both countries in the coming weeks. At the same time, the next Kurti-Vucic meeting is scheduled for March 18 in Skopje, North Macedonia.

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