Lajcak: There is progress in implementing some agreements between Belgrade and Pristina

Special Representative of the European Union for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, assessed that the normalization of relations should encourage the prospect of EU membership, RFE reports.

'We cannot achieve normalization if there is no clear vision of how to connect it to the European process', Lajcak stated at a Western Balkans forum organized by the Brussels-based organization 'Friends of Europe'.

Speaking about the process he has been mediating for almost four years, Lajcak noted that it was a matter of strategic importance.

He confirmed that Belgrade and Pristina had made progress on some issues and hinted that the energy dossier would soon be concluded, there was progress regarding license plates, the issue of missing persons, local elections in the north, and steps toward implementing the agreement on the path to normalizing relations.

Emphasizing that he is in regular contact with the parties, he warned that Kosovo and Serbia must also keep in mind the political calendar as European elections approach. According to him, it would be wise for the parties not to wait for the pre-election campaign in the European Union.

Since April 2020, Miroslav Lajcak has been mediating in the dialogue on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. His mandate was to reach an agreement with the parties on comprehensive normalization of relations.