Beckerath: Both Pristina and Belgrade must implement what was promised in the dialogue

Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia Andreas von Beckerath said that, as part of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, the Ohrid Agreement and other relevant agreements must be implemented, and that each side must fulfill its share of the obligations under those agreements, RTS reports.

Beckerath recalled that EU High Representative Kaja Kallas met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in New York at the beginning of the week and stressed the importance of normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as the fact that this process goes hand in hand with progress on the European path.

“This means that the Ohrid Agreement and other relevant agreements must be implemented and that each side must fulfill its share of the obligations under those agreements. For Pristina, this means establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities, that is, municipalities with a Serbian majority, which we expect to be done in good faith and in accordance with the agreement, but Belgrade also has a number of obligations that we expect it to implement without delay. So, both sides must implement what was promised within the framework of this dialogue,” he said.

Beckerath stressed that Serbia definitely has the capacity and ability to accelerate its progress toward the EU, but that this capacity must be combined with political will and the implementation of genuine reforms, particularly in the areas of the rule of law and media freedom, as well as respect for democratic principles and values.

He said he could also support the statement by the President of the European Commission, who said that EU enlargement is high on the agenda, as well as the statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that accelerating Serbia's European path is one of the priorities.

“Enlargement is definitely at the very top of the European agenda, and I also think that Serbia should accelerate its progress toward the EU. Serbia definitely has the capacity and ability to do this more quickly, but that capacity must be combined with political will and the implementation of real reforms, particularly when we talk about the rule of law and media freedom, but also respect for democratic principles and values,” he said.