European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton on Tuesday invited Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci to a meeting in Brussels on May 21 for talks on the implementation of an agreement on the normalisation of relations initialled on April 13.
Ashton said in a statement she invited the two premiers for talks on the joint steps they had to take regarding the implementation of the agreement. She said a swift implementation was of key importance and that she was looking forward to the talks.
After the agreement was initialled, working groups met twice but failed to agree on the implementation, with the two sides accusing each other of the failure. This prompted Ashton to invite Dacic and Thaci so that progress could be achieved at the highest level.
The agreement envisages autonomy for a community of Serb municipalities in north Kosovo but within Kosovo institutions.
Progress in reaching the agreement and now in its enforcement is the key requirement for Serbia and Kosovo to make headway in European integration. Serbia expects EU leaders to give it a date for the start of accession negotiations at their summit in June, while Kosovo expects the green light for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
