Rrecaj: Confusing objections from Kosovo and Serbia regarding the legality of the dialogue agreements; signatures do not help without willingness

Professor Besfort Rrecaj from the Department of International Law at the University of Pristina states that the situation with the agreements reached last year within the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue has become very complicated because, on the one hand, the European Union is very clear that these are formal agreements in accordance with international law, while on the other hand, Kosovo and Serbia present confusing objections regarding their legality.

He says this has also complicated the criteria for determining the fulfillment of the agreements.

"Our Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, believes that the agreement must be signed to be in force, while on the other hand, Vucic does not want to sign the agreements and claims they are verbal. He sends confusing signals to Brussels by sometimes stating that these agreements are not legally binding. This whole situation complicates the process of reporting on the fulfillment of obligations because there must be some kind of common understanding as to whether one side or the other has met a certain condition. Of course, the European Union will have the final say, as it has been chosen as the arbiter in this process, which will condition further aid and further processes of European integration for both sides according to the fulfillment of the obligations assumed by the agreements," Rrecaj emphasizes.

He points out that from a legal standpoint, last year's agreements are in force and in accordance with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

"The physical signing of these agreements would not help much if the parties are not willing to fulfill them because we also have problems with other agreements that have been signed but are not being properly implemented, so a signature does not guarantee that the parties will fulfill them. The fulfillment of agreements under international law should be in good faith by the parties, and if there is no willingness among the parties or if there is a willingness to bypass or somehow evade the agreements and interpret them in a way that is not in line with the intentions of the parties, then problems arise even in cases where the agreements are signed," Rrecaj points out.