News 20 Jul 11

Kosovo Talks in Brussels Postponed

Kosovo talks which were expected to yield new agreements in Brussels on Wednesday have been postponed until September.

Bojana Barlovac Belgrade

An EU assessment found that Serbia and Kosovo are unable to compromise on the subjects of the talks, and it would be better to wait.

Serbiaʼs chief negotiator, Borislav Stefanovic, blamed Kosovo for the delay, saying that the Pristina delegationʼs demand for symbols of Kosovoʼs statehood to be clearly displayed during the meeting were unacceptable.

Edita Tahiri, Kosovoʼs chief negotiator, put the blame on Belgrade.

“The sixth round of dialogue has been canceled due to the Serbian side, which has not shown a willingness to accept a free trade agreement or to recognize Kosovo customs stamps, which are now recognized by the EU,” Tahiri said in a statement.

For the first time since Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in February 2008, the two sides sat down together under EU auspices in Brussels on March 8 and 9.

The EU-led negotiations scored a major breakthrough on July 3, when the two sides agreed to deals regarding freedom of movement, opening civil registries and mutual acceptance of university degrees. Final discussion of the college diploma issue was to be resumed later in July.

According to Tahiri, Wednesdayʼs talks were to include the electricity debts run up by Kosovo Serbs to Kosovoʼs power company, KEK, over the past 12 years. Since NATO forced Serbian authorities to withdraw from Kosovo in 1999, Serbs have routinely not paid their power bills, adding to the woes of the troubled KEK company.

Stefanovic would not even agree that Serb power bills were on the agenda. “No debts will be the subject of negotiations,” he told Belgradeʼs Beta news agency.

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