BRUSSELS – The European Union announced on April 18 that the Joint Committee miros was formed, led by the EU’s special representative for the Belgrade-Prisitna dialogue, Miroslav Lajčak.
The committee will supervise the implementation of the Agreement on the path to the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which was accepted by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, at a meeting in Brussels on February 27, as well as the annex on the implementation of the Agreement, which was agreed on March 18 in Ohrid.
It is stated precisely in the implementation annex, as the second part of the Agreement, that within 30 days, a Joint Committee will be formed, which will be chaired by the EU. Exactly one month after the high-level meeting in Ohrid and just before the deadline, a joint body of the two parties and the European Union as the mediator was established.
In this way, the first steps were taken in the process of implementing the agreement made in Brussels and Ohrid. Although the document was not formally signed by the highest officials of Serbia and Kosovo, the European Union points out that the agreement and accompanying annex are legally binding and that the two parties must fulfill their obligations.
In the annex on implementation, which foresees further steps, despite the primarily indicated urgent obligations of Pristina regarding the establishment of arrangements for the self-government of Serbs in Kosovo, just two precise deadlines are defined – for the creation of a Joint Committee (within 30 days) and for holding a donor conference organized by the EU (within 150 days).
When it comes to the previous agreements within the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, it was precisely the implementation that proved to be the weakest point, and a similar monitoring body was not formed. The joint committee for monitoring the agreement will be chaired by the EU’s Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajčak, while Serbia will be represented by the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija and chief negotiator Petar Petković, and Kosovo by its ambassador to the European Union, Agron Bajrami.
It was stated that the committee will meet regularly in Brussels, and the first meeting, where its responsibilities will be specified, will be held in early May, after the next high-level meeting between President Vučić and Prime Minister Kurti in Brussels on May 2.