Serbia and Kosovo have reached an agreement to normalize relations between the two countries. The parties agreed on an implementation annex to the Agreement on the Path to Normalization of Relations.

This was announced by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. According to him, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti reached an agreement on the normalization of relations between the two countries at the talks in North Macedonia.

Serbia and Kosovo pledged to comply with all articles of the agreement

“We have agreed … The parties are fully committed to comply with all articles of the transaction and to fulfill their respective obligations promptly and in good faith,” Borrell wrote.

According to Reuters, the agreement reached on March 18 was the result of 12-hour negotiations. Vučić and Kurti had separate meetings with Borrell ahead of the tripartite session in North Macedonia.

Vucic said at a press conference that the parties did not agree on all points. “Despite the differences, we had a decent conversation,” he said.

Kurti said “this is a de facto recognition between Kosovo and Serbia”, although Serbia has not yet signed the agreement.

Serbian-majority municipality should get more autonomy

Borrell said that the EU will now stubbornly demand that both sides fulfill their obligations if they want to join the bloc. He warned that otherwise there would be consequences.

He also touched on the proposed unification of Serbian municipalities in Kosovo, which would give greater autonomy to Serbian-majority municipalities, a subject of long-running debate.

Kosovo has agreed to immediately start – and when I say immediately, I mean immediately – negotiations with the European Union that would facilitate dialogue on establishing concrete agreements and guarantees to ensure an adequate level of self-government for Serbian communities in Kosovo, the head of European diplomacy said.

In the annex on the implementation of the agreement, the EU committed to organize a donor conference within 150 days to create a package of investment and financial assistance to Kosovo and Serbia.