Lajcak on CSM: A statute that is acceptable to both sides is necessary

The Special Envoy of the European Union for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said ahead of a new round of talks in Brussels that the statute of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities in Kosovo must be acceptable to both sides and in line with European standards, Informer reports.

"The management team will present a draft. We don't know what's in it, but that should be the beginning of the process. In the end, we should have a statute that is acceptable to both sides, Kosovo and Serbia, in line with European standards. This is the first important step," Lajcak said for the Croatian news agency "Hina".

He added that it would ultimately depend on both sides as to what the statute would look like.

"We are here to implement what was agreed upon during the dialogue. It was not imposed, it was agreed upon between Serbia and Kosovo in 2013. It is important for us that every solution is European," Lajcak emphasized.

As he stated, the EU does not want to create the CSM according to a model that has not been tested before in the world.

"We must, therefore, implement what was previously agreed, but at the same time, we must draw inspiration from the practical solutions of existing European models. We don't want to create something that has never been tested anywhere in the world, but we want the parties to find inspiration in European models that work well," Lajcak emphasized.