news 17 Oct 12

Serbian Leaders Agree Stance on Kosovo Talks

As EU-led talks look set to resume, Serbian officials are set to meet on Friday and hammer out a common position on Kosovo.

Bojana Barlovac BIRN Belgrade

Serbian top officials meet on Friday to agree key details of the platform for the next round of Belgrade-Pristina talks.

The leadership is expected to agree on an approach to Kosovo that does not endorse Kosovo's independence but is based on Serbia's 2006 constitution, which describes Kosovo as an autonomous province.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Belgrade has vowed never to recognise its statehood.

The document will then be presented to Serbian political and Orthodox Church representatives. Once the platform obtains support from parliament and the public, the talks can resume.

EU-mediated talks between Belgrade and Pristina started in March 2011 aimed at normalising relations between the two countries, both of which share a desire to join the EU one day.

The two sides have reached deals on trade, freedom of movement, the cadastral registry, mutual recognition of university diplomas, border control management and on the representation of Kosovo at regional meetings. But not all of the agreements have been implemented.

The Belgrade-based daily newspaper, Vecernje Novosti, reported that the Serbian leadership is considering two options for Kosovo, the model of South Tyrol in Italy and the "Belgian model".

After the First World War, former Austrian South Tyrol was annexed to Italy. According to the Treaty of Paris, the German minority living there was given a wide range of rights.

The basis of the "Belgian model" is the position of the German community in the province of Wallonia whose local parliament has the right to veto decisions of the central government.

Neither approach is likely to interest the government of Kosovo, as the mainly Albanian territory has long since been recognised by 22 of the 27 EU states and the US, among others

Besides Nikolic, Friday's meeting will be attended by Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic, United Regions of Serbia leader Mladjan Dinkic, parliamentary speaker Nebojsa Stefanovic, Nikolic's advisor on foreign policy Marko Djuric and head of the Sebian office for Kosovo Aleksandar Vulin.

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