Office for Kosovo and Metohija
Government of the Republic of Serbia

Technical Dialogue in Brussels Marked by Improper Public Statements of Priština Representatives

In the course of the four-day talks held this week in Brussels in the framework of the technical dialogue, the delegations of Belgrade and Priština tackled the establishment of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, telecommunications, energy and other pending issues. According to the participants, progress has been made in some areas.

Several-day talks were marked by the public statements made by the Head of the Priština delegation, Edita Tahiri, stating inaccurate information on the outcome of the discussions. In consequence, the Head of the Belgrade delegation, Marko Đurić lodged a strong protest with the representatives of the European Union.

According to Beta news agency, European representatives criticized Tahiri for her interpretation of the subject matter of the talks on telecommunications, and both delegations were asked to refrain from making press statements. The Belgrade media has learned from diplomatic sources that the Priština party was also criticized by the International Telecommunication Union from Vienna.

Following the discussions on telecommunications in Brussels, Edita Tahiri stated that Kosovo was to receive the international dialing code 383, and that Austria was to submit the application with the competent international authority.

Đurić explained to the press in Brussels that the International Telecommunication Union, as an agency within the UN system, recognizes Kosovo as a part of Serbia, so only the Republic of Serbia may request an additional dialing code to apply in its territor

“If Ms. Tahiri or anyone else in Priština believes they can have a dialing code without Serbia's agreement, I urge them to go ahead with it. If what they claim is true, then these talks are redundant. Let them request a dialing code and maybe they will get it one day – or not,” Đurić said.

He recalled that the agreement on telecommunications cannot be reached without Serbia, while a separate dialing code can be allocated only at the request of Belgrade, provided that an agreement has been reached that “Telecom Serbia” may operate without hindrance in Kosovo and Metohija.

“We are doing our best to advance Serbia on its path through the labyrinth of these difficult negotiations, but this is not easy in a situation in which the other side insists on makes false public statements concerning the talks held behind this door. Again we encounter something that I cannot call any other way but lying when it comes to the subject matter of the talks on telecommunications,” Đurić elaborated.

According to him, tariffs were also discussed with some convergence of views.

“It is important that the calls remain local, but nothing else was agreed and everything is open for discussion,” Đurić explained and added that persistently false statements on the matters involved in the discussions were detrimental to the dialogue, and that this is how Priština was obviously seeking to provoke the suspension of the dialogue.

During the four-day discussions, the Serbian delegation made it clear that the establishment of the Community of Serbian Municipalities was the most important topic for Belgrade and that the Community was to have political significance.

Đurić told the media in Brussels that the Serbian delegation had presented key elements and principles relevant to the establishment of the Community, and expressed regret that “there were no direct representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija” in the discussions.

“Talks about this topic of paramount importance to us will continue. We know what we are fighting for - the Community of Serbian Municipalities, as Catherine Ashton used to say, is to have political relevance, “political teeth”, and nothing less can satisfy the Serbian people and the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija,” Đurić said.

This round of the technical dialogue presented an opportunity to consider some other pending issues, including the destiny of the Peace Park installed in the bridge which connects the northern and southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.

Special Representative of the European Union to Priština, Samuel Žbogar proposed to the participants in the technical dialogue in Brussels a resolution of the dispute on the bridge in Mitrovica, announced Maja Kocijančič, the Spokeswoman for the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.

“As the Chair of the working group for the bridge, Žbogar presented parties with the technical evaluation of the bridge and suggested how the problem could be overcome,” Kocijančič said in a press release, not divulging any details of Žbogar's proposals.

The technical dialogue in Brussels will resume on Monday, 22 June, a day before the meeting of Prime Ministers.