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The envoy of the United States of America for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said that several member states of the Council of Europe have requested that Kosovo establish the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.
During a conversation with journalists, Escobar said that the issue of the Association and some issues related to the Serbian minority, which have not been fulfilled, were continuous requests.
" This is what is fueling the concern that Kosovo may not have the votes for the Council of Europe ," said Escobar on May 8.
He said that the US does not have a vote in this European human rights organization, but Washington's position is that Kosovo should be a full member of the European Union, NATO and the United Nations "and will we continue to work on this".
" As for European integration, I think it is important for Kosovo to listen to its European allies and work with European allies, as we strengthen Kosovo's candidacy in all Euro-Atlantic structures ", he added.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, declared earlier on May 8 that his Government will not accept the establishment of the Association as a condition for membership in the Council of Europe.
Asked if the issue of the Association and the Council of Europe are related issues, Escobar said "they are very related."
" I think they are very related. First, the Council of Europe deals with the treatment of minorities and Kosovo has made a clear commitment to the treatment of minorities and this includes the Association. This is a strong commitment that is also written in Ahtisaari's plan is written in the Brussels and Ohrid Agreement ," said Escobar.
" We find it difficult to understand why Kosovo does not fulfill its legal obligation and has not signaled that it is committed to doing so. Our concern is that after [Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe] there would only be more delays [ on the implementation of the agreement on the Association] and this is what some believe ," the senior US official added.
Within the dialogue for the normalization of relations, which is mediated by the European Union, Kosovo and Serbia have reached an agreement in 2013 and then in 2015 for the establishment of the Association.
In 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo said that the Agreement on the principles for the establishment of the Association was not in full compliance with the Constitution.
The EU and the USA have repeatedly called on Kosovo to establish the Association. Last year, the international community presented Kosovo and Serbia with a draft statute for the Association.
The parties initially accepted the draft statute, but no steps have yet been taken towards its establishment.
During this virtual conversation with journalists, Escobar, who ends his term at the end of this month. He said that the post was for 2 years, but he had asked for an additional year in the hope that progress would be made towards the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
"Because I really believed that by the end of this year we would have made more progress in the Ohrid Agreement, that we would have fully implemented some of the requirements for Serbia and the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and that we would be able to bring Kosovo closer to European integration through the Partnership for Peace and candidacy for the EU.
He blamed Kosovo and Serbia for failing to fulfill their commitments arising from the Agreement on the road to the normalization of relations and its implementation Annex, which the parties reached last year.
Escobar said he still hopes that this can be achieved through the full implementation of the normalization agreement, which he described as "historic".
The 11-article agreement, among other things, foresees a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo and mutual recognition of state symbols, while asking Pristina and Belgrade to implement all previous agreements reached during the dialogue. / REL
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