Stano: It's not true that Lajcak was unsuccessful; Belgrade and Pristina were not ready to move forward

EU spokesperson Peter Stano stated that the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, whose mandate is soon ending, has led the negotiations well, but the two sides were unwilling to make compromises.

"The lessons that the EU has learned? One is the most important: if the parties are not willing to move forward, no one can force them to do so. Our role is to be the dialogue moderator between Belgrade and Pristina, to help them become part of the EU and start behaving in a European manner, finding solutions to important issues in the interest of their citizens. The fact that they have not been able to do so thus far and progress with the normalization process is not a failure of the EU as a mediator, but their failure to achieve it," Stano said at a press briefing in Brussels.

He added that Brussels will be there, regardless of the envoy's mandate.

"Previously, there wasn't a mandate for an envoy; rather, that job was handled by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs. And that indicates how much attention we give to this matter and how much we want to help Serbia and Kosovo move forward, day by day. It's not true that Lajcak was unsuccessful, and it's not fair to portray his efforts that way because he did his best with the full support of the 27 EU member states. It's not even factually correct to say that his mandate was a failure because he reached an agreement, but the two sides didn't sign that agreement. However, for us, it was never about the signature; that agreement is legally binding, and there's no better explanation for its legal binding nature because it has become an integral part of the negotiation framework for both Serbia and Kosovo," Stano asserted.

He emphasized that if Serbia and Kosovo "don't proceed with the implementation, they harm themselves."

"They jeopardize the future within the EU and the benefits their citizens could gain from continuing the dialogue process. We will continue with our international role in all of this, serving as mediators. If Borrell doesn't remain the High Representative, someone else will, as will the special envoy. Currently, we are considering whether to renew that position, but the decision will be made only from August onwards. Until then, Lajcak is in that position and doing his best. There's no better example of his dedication to the job because he has had countless meetings to resolve the latest issues arising from Pristina's unilateral actions regarding the dinar, which constantly exacerbate the crisis for the Serbian population in Kosovo," the EU spokesperson said.

Responding to the assertion that "this is about peace and stability in the Western Balkans, not just dialogue" and whether the EU, given the importance of everything, plans to engage in discussions with Belgrade and Pristina at a higher level, since the current one hasn't yielded results, Stano reiterated that it's not up to the EU to do something.

"It's not about what the EU should or shouldn't do; it's about the parties. You can only help someone if they are willing to accept help. The EU doesn't pressure negotiators; the partners have voluntarily expressed their desire to become part of the EU one day. This places the obligation on their shoulders to behave in a European manner. We are assisting them because they asked us to; we have a mandate to negotiate in collaboration with international institutions. But every negotiator will tell you that the level of what you can achieve depends on the willingness of the parties in the dialogue to compromise. That's something we won't give up on. But, I repeat, we can only do as much as the interested parties are willing to do," Stano emphasized.

He denied that Lajcak made any mistakes in the negotiation process because he faced criticism in the European Parliament.

"The European Union is constantly learning new lessons and introducing changes because we want to help. In this case, we want to assist these two partners who want to join the EU in doing so. When it comes to criticizing the Special Commissioner, when it comes to the European Parliament, there are those who criticize, but there are also others who don't share that opinion and view everything the EU and the Special Commissioner have done so far differently. I think it has to do with party ideology, but it's interesting that every time there's a discussion about the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo in the EU, the opinions of the governments of the member states and those who represent the member states in terms of foreign policy differ. They select, support, and oversee the special representative. I can only say that Commissioner Lajcak has had and continues to have our full support and the support of all member states," Stano said.

He added that the EU evaluates everything achieved, but they don't have the final say.

"If you want to help partners, and they refuse it and constantly point fingers at each other and create new obstacles, acting unilaterally without consultation and collaboration, then you can only do as much as they allow you to. Again, this will be the subject of a new round of negotiations and the appointment of a new Special Representative, which we will discuss with the member states. They are very united in their stance on the work of Commissioner Lajcak and High Representative Borrell when it comes to the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia," the spokesperson stated.

Stano didn't want to reveal when Lajcak's successor would be chosen or whether plans had already started in that direction.

"That's an internal matter, so I won't go into deadlines. It's not just about the special representative for the Western Balkans; we have many special representatives. We'll see what the idea is and what the member states want to do with that function. When they announce their nominations, there will be several rounds of internal processes, but I won't talk about deadlines. I only know that until the end of Lajcak's current mandate, everything will proceed according to plan," the EU spokesperson concluded.