It appears that the EU has listened to Serbia’s arguments with regard to Kosovo talks the need for the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM), as agreed during 2013 talks, as EU representatives have now openly called for the need for Kosovo to agree to the CSM in order for normalization to move forward.
„We are clear about what we expect from Kosovo,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a public statement on Nov. 8. “We talked about the implementation of the draft that Kosovo has for the Community, and this implementation would represent a big step forward.
“It is in the interest of Kosovo,” she added, pointing out that this is key to Kosovo’s and Serbia’s progress to join the EU.
Von der Leyen made the comments during a joing press conference together with European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi.
That said, this still appears to be a bumpy path. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he agrees to part of the overall normalization agreement, but he also said that he sent in his criticism of the CSM proposed by the EU.
Both sides are expected to meet in mid-November for a resumption of talks.
File photo of von der Leyen by Kuhlmann / MSC, CC BY 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons.
