Normalising Ties Essential, EU Tells Serbia, Kosovo

Another of a new expected meeting between the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia, the Council of the European Union has said that progress by Serbia and Kosovo towards normalisation of their relations is essential - and will determine the pace of their respective European integrations.

The EU Council report said a legally binding agreement between the two sides was "key for their respective European paths and essential for sustainable regional stability".

In its conclusions on the EU's enlargement policy and on the EU-Western Balkans stabilisation and association process, adopted on Tuesday, it urged both sides to
"continue on their respective European paths, while avoiding that either can block the other in these efforts and with the prospect of both being able to fully exercise their rights and fulfil  their responsibilities".

It added that the EU expected both sides to engage constructively in drafting the statute for the long-awaited autonomous Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo.

Turning to other thorny issues, it called for both sides to work "swiftly" on implementing an agreement on energy.

"Taking account of the slow pace of progress, the Council stresses the importance of completing the implementation of all other past agreements, and in particular the Mitrovica Bridge, Integrated Border Management and the mutual recognition of diplomas," the document adopted on Tuesday said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci agreed at a meeting in Brussels on June 24 to intensify work on comprehensive normalisation of relations in the coming weeks.

The EU Council said it is "deeply concerned about the murder of Oliver Ivanovic in northern Mitrovica in January...