Kosovo

Despite heightened tensions, the “Agreement on the path to normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia”, reached in Ohrid, North Macedonia, in March, marks a historic milestone, the Security Council heard today, as senior representatives from Pristina and Belgrade offered countering perspectives on the drivers of regional insecurity.

Two-thirds of the member states voted on Monday to send the country's membership application to the parliamentary assembly, which Kosovo leaders hailed as a historic step.

Brussels says boycott of local elections in Serb-majority north meant the results offered no solution to the crisis there - although government ministers insisted they could work with them.

Kosovo and Serbia have established a Joint Monitoring Committee to oversee implementation of the verbal deal on normalization of relations reached in Ohrid, North Macedonia, on March 18.

Representatives of Serbia and Kosovo met in Brussels to talk about establishing the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities in northern Kosovo as part of the recent agreement between the two countries’ leaders.

[…]  During the reporting period, intensified diplomatic efforts led to an accord between Belgrade and Pristina on the “Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia”, also known as the “European Union proposal”. The Agreement provides a new framework for the European Union-facilitated dialogue, seeking to refocus the normalization of relations and advance towards a comprehensive legally binding agreement.

The four defendants, Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi have all pleaded not guilty. All four were senior figures in the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA guerrilla organisation during the war and were involved in leading the fight against the Yugoslav Army, Serbian police and paramilitaries, and all became senior politicians in the post-war period.

The EU Special Envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajčak, said that the acceptance of the European proposal was a positive message.

President Vucic has dashed hopes of Belgrade signing the EU plan for Serbia-Kosovo relations because it includes allowing Kosovo to join the UN.