Serbia, Kosovo sign ‘landmark’ energy, telco agreements

The two prime ministers “have marked a turning point in the advancement of the dialogue agenda”, the EU foreign policy chief said in a statement released at the end of the meeting in Brussels.

The accord carries out a 2013 agreement brokered by the EU, which was aimed at regulating and normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo. “This will define the use of the bridge in a mutually acceptable way which symbolizes the spirit of the dialogue that I am facilitating”, Mogherini said.

“Solutions such as those found today bring concrete benefits to the people and at the same time enable the two sides to advance on their European path”, said Mogherini. After 9 hours discussions in Brussels, Vucic and Mustafa finalized deals on energy, telecommunications and the Association of Serbian Municipalities.

“This is a big achievement for the whole of Serbia and it means there are no longer any obstacles, nothing stands on Serbia’s way towards Europe”, said the Serb President Aleksandar Vucic.

Kosovo will have its own telephone country code, in what amounts to a recognition by Serbia of the sovereignty of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.

“You will soon call Kosovo on global dialing code +383”, Kosovo’s deputy premier and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci tweeted Tuesday following the agreement. Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008, nearly a decade after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation intervened with air strikes to drive out Serbian forces from Kosovo and halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanian civilians during a two-year counter-insurgency war.

Neighbors Serbia and Kosovo have been at odds over Pristina’s 2008 unilateral declaration of independence from Belgrade, which has refused to join the United States and most of the EU in recognising Kosovo as an independent state.