Macron, Scholz, and Meloni: Kosovo and Serbia should quickly agree on the details in the dialogue

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated in a joint declaration that they expected Serbia and Kosovo to fulfill their obligations regarding the implementation of the Agreement on the Path to Normalization, which included Kosovo forming the CSM.

"We welcome the engagement of the two Parties in the discussions yesterday in Brussels. We take good note of the comments made by the two leaders of Kosovo and Serbia to the European Statute for the establishment of the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities in Kosovo and their expressed readiness to implement,” as stated in the announcement released by the German Government.

The three European leaders also note that a draft statute for the CSM has been presented, which they fully support. This draft encompasses a modern European way of addressing the sensitive issue of minority protection in line with the best European practices and standards, within the parameters defined by the Parties.

"Therefore, we underline our expectations that the Parties deliver on their commitments to implement the Agreement on the Path to Normalization. The implementation phase should progress with both Parties delivering on their respective obligations in parallel in a step-by-step manner based on the principle that both Parties need to do something to get something," Macron, Scholz, and Meloni state.

They emphasize that the focus should now be on advancing on the full implementation of the Agreement without preconditions or delays.

"In order to make quick progress in the implementation, we call on Kosovo to launch the procedure to establish the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities in Kosovo as prescribed in the draft Statute, and on Serbia to deliver on de-facto recognition. Formalities, including those related to adoption, should not stand in the way of progress on this issue," the joint statement reads.

Therefore, they expect Kosovo and Serbia to swiftly agree on the details in the EU-facilitated Dialogue.

"In the absence of progress on normalization of relations both Parties risk losing important opportunities," Macron, Scholz, and Meloni warn.