BRUSSELS – The draft reports on Serbia and Kosovo were presented to the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) today. The documents call on the parties to relaunch the dialogue on the normalisation of relations and to step up reforms in the area of the rule of law.
The reports represent Parliament’s position on the 2023 and 2024 annual reports on Serbia and Kosovo by the European Commission (covering two years since last year the new EP was elected). They are expected to be adopted in AFET in the coming weeks and then submitted to a vote by the plenary.
In his opening remarks, Tonino Picula, the EP’s Rapporteur for Serbia, reiterated the importance of constructive engagement on the part of the authorities of both Serbia and Kosovo in order to achieve a comprehensive legally binding normalisation agreement.
The draft report on Serbia confirms the country’s strategic commitment to European integration but notes serious shortcomings in key areas such as the rule of law, the judiciary, and alignment with EU foreign policy.
“Serbia has stated commitment to EU membership as its strategic goal and its ambition to align fully with the EU acquis by the end of 2026, but there is a need for Serbia to seriously demonstrate that it is strategically oriented towards the EU and to communicate objectively and unambiguously on the EU”, Tonino Picula said.
It is also noted with concern that Serbia has made limited or overall progress in meeting the benchmarks for EU membership across negotiating chapters, with particular shortcomings in critical areas such as the rule of law, public administration reform, and alignment with EU policies, as well as that no progress has been made on Chapter 31, as Serbia’s pattern of alignment with EU foreign policy positions has remained largely unchanged.
Referring to the current political and social crisis in the country, Picula stated that the “systematic issues have been highlighted by the student protests in Serbia, such as issues relating to civil liberties, institutional and financial transparency, and accountability”.
He also stressed the importance of freedom of speech and assembly and condemned in the strongest terms the violent attacks against peaceful protesters.
According to Picula, the Serbian authorities made “unsubstantiated allegations that EU member states were involved in organising the student protests with a view to triggering a ‘colour revolution’”.
Presenting the draft report on Kosovo, Riho Terras, EP’s Rapporteur for Kosovo stated that “Kosovo’s future lies in the EU and that all efforts to bring Kosovo out of the ‘grey zone’ are in the interest of the people of both Kosovo and the EU”.
He called for the immediate lifting of the EU measures against Kosovo, claiming that they are “no longer justified and stand in contradiction to Kosovo’s demonstrated commitment to European values and alignment with EU policies”.
According to Terras, the EU member states that have not yet recognised Kosovo’s independence should do so “without delay”, while the new Kosovo Government should relaunch the dialogue with Serbia and take a “proactive approach” to the process of the normalisation of the relations.
“The participation of Kosovo Serbs in the parliamentary elections and encourages their elected representatives to play an active role within the Kosovo legislative framework, in support of Kosovo’s prosperous future”, Riho Terras said.
The draft report on Kosovo also notes “the tangible progress in the areas of justice, freedom and security, the fight against organised crime and a functioning market economy, but regrets that progress in the area of rule of law remains limited”.