Kosovo and Serbia Reach Key Deal on Judiciary

Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, signed an agreement on the judiciary in Brussels, as the dialogue on normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina resumed following a ten-month standstill.

The two leaders closed "a critical chapter of the implementation of the Brussels Agreement that will substantially improve lives of people on the ground," Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative, wrote in a statement.

Mustafa said the agreement would enable the justice system to operate over the entire territory of Kosovo.

Vucic stated that the agreement included the two sides agreeing on the ethnic structure of judges and prosecutors in northern Kosovo. The president of the court in Serb-populated northern Mitrovica would be a Serb, he explained.

According to the agreement, the court, which covers seven municipalities - including the Serb-majority municipalities of North Mitrovica, Leposavic and Zubin Potok - would have nine Albanian and nine Serbian prosecutors.

"The talks were tough, but I think we got the maximum in the given circumstances," Vucic said.

Mogherini stated that Vucic and Mustafa had held a comprehensive discussion on the full spectrum of issues in the EU-led dialogue and assessed the remaining work.

"The two Prime Ministers exchanged views on the way forward and confirmed their commitment to continue to make progress in the normalisation of relations," she stated.

Following the meeting, Mustafa said the priority now was "the undoing of the [Serbian-run] parallel structures in the north", starting with the Civil Protection Forces.

These comprise ethnic Serbian police in northern Kosovo responsible to the Serbian Interior Ministry.

Pristina considers...