Lajcak: Vucic, Kurti Have Mandates to Make Difficult Decisions

Aleksandar Vucic, Albin Kurti, Josep Borrell, Miroslav Lajcak, Brussels Nov. 21 2022 (Photo: European Council/Olivier Matthys)

The European Union’s special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said on May 4 that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Premier Albin Kurti were mandated to make difficult decisions within the Dialogue.

“Vucic and Kurti have mandates to make difficult decisions…The EU did what it could, but we can’t desire the normalization more than Kosovo and Serbia,” Lajcak said in an interview to the NOVA paper, adding that a comprehensive agreement between them was key to EU accession.

According to the EU envoy, a comprehensive, legally binding agreement on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is the purpose of the Dialogue, and a key part of his own mandate.

“It is also a key requirement for the two parties to eventually join the EU. My wish was to go all the way and complete the process with a comprehensive, legally binding normalization agreement. It was not possible, but I also want to underline that we have gone a long way,” says Lajcak, whose term of office as the EU special envoy for the Dialogue expires on Aug. 31.

Lajcak said that reaching a final agreement depended on Belgrade and Pristina. “Both sides have established European integration as their strategic priority, and the progress they make in the normalization of their relations is essential for their progress on their way to the EU,” Lajcak said, adding that Serbia and Kosovo must make an additional effort to bring the process to an end.