Ashton: I was optimistic when we signed the Brussels Agreement in 2013

Former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, who was present when the Brussels Agreement was signed in 2013, told Kosovo Online that she had then posed the question of how to ensure that Serbs in northern Kosovo establish relations with Pristina, to which the answer was actually the idea of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. However, the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities has not existed for 11 years, and Ashton recalls that the CSM was what both sides chose to do.

"I didn’t write the Brussels Agreement. I typed it, but I didn’t write it. It is a document of Serbia and Kosovo and the way they chose to move forward", said Ashton on the 11th anniversary of the signing of that document.

As she stated, she then posed the question - how will it be ensured that the Serbian population in the north feels special in relation to Pristina and has its own voice when "Belgrade withdraws its presence in the north."

"The way to answer that question, from both sides, came with the idea of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. Now they need to recall the original question and how they then decided to move forward," Ashton mentioned.

She says that at the time when she arranged the Brussels Agreement, she was very optimistic because she was convinced it was a breakthrough and the right moment, and she remains optimistic, as she wants to see both Belgrade and Pristina in the European Union.

"However, over the past years, I have also seen a deterioration in the situation and relations. Many things that were supposed to be done, that they promised to do – have not been done. I hope that in the coming months and years we will see a sincere desire to resolve the issue. The EU is committed to these countries," said Ashton.