Hill Says Community of Serb Municipalities Must Be Formed, Hopes Serbia Will Join NATO

Christopher Hill/BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC

U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said on March 6 that the Community of Serb Municipalities must be formed in Kosovo in line with the Brussels Agreement, signed a decade ago.

Speaking at the Future of the EU and Western Balkans panel discussion at the Kopaonik Business Forum, Hill said agreements had to be honored and that the formation of the Community was a test of the Pristina government's understanding of what needs to be done to meet European standards.

He said Serbs had lived in Kosovo for centuries and had the right to decide their own future.

Ultimately, Serbia has to have strong policies and solve the Kosovo issue, which is very hard, Hill said while speaking about European Union integration.

He stressed that any country that valued the security of its people should want to join NATO and said he hoped that Serbia would one day become part of that alliance.

Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret said that the EU would respond in the right way once it saw Serbia and the Western Balkans take steps toward meeting membership criteria.