Engaging in the Dialogue with Serbia:
February 2020 – Balkans Group has sent a letter to Prime Minister of Kosovo Mr.Albin Kurti on the required steps to achieve progress in the dialogue with Serbia. Among others, Balkans Group advocate for the complete removal on the customs tariff on products coming from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, implementation of the Brussels-facilitated technical agreements between Kosovo and Serbia and cooperation with key Western countries to halt Serbia’s de-recognition campaign. The letter also provided a number of key recommendations aimed at relaunching the dialogue with Serbia. Those include:
- Suspend the 100% tariff for a period of nine (9) months. The logic and the possibility of its restoration, further strengthens the position of the Kosovo government.
- Request the persistence of EU institutions, France, Germany, and the United States to condition Serbia’s de-recognition campaign against Kosovo. These countries should also work with Serbia and other countries to help facilitate Kosovo’s access to INTERPOL next year
- The Government of Kosovo should request from the EU (including the European Commission) to work on the implementation of technical agreements such as IBM access rights, Freedom of Movement, car plate recognition and accompanying documents, implementation of phytosanitary, energy, etc, within a timely manner.
- The government should think carefully of reciprocal measures depending on Serbia’ s behavior toward Kosovo in the future.
