European Union High Representative Josep Borrell said that the agreement reached in Ohrid is an important milestone in the normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations.

He added that it creates a new status quo in the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. “We will no longer be – I hope – on crisis mode but [focused] on the implementation of the Agreement that was accepted on 27 February,” he said.

Borrell said that the agreement was not signed for legal reasons “but both parties agreed that my statement was a commitment from their part to fulfill fully the obligations coming from this Agreement and the Annex for its implementation”.

EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak said that the Ohrid agreement means that Serbia won’t oppose Kosovo’s membership in international organizations while Pristina is obliged to immediately form the Community of Serb Municipalities.

He added that the agreed provisions will be an integral part of Chapter 35 for Serbia and an obligation for Kosovo through its Special Group [Committee] on Normalization. “This will be concrete and explicitly part of their commitments on their European paths. We will follow closely the implementation of these agreements,” he said.

The EU’s top diplomat said that the agreement has to implemented in line with a certain calendar which requires that each side does its part, starting from the most urgent things. The annex clearly states that Kosovo will immediately start work on the Community of Serb Majority Municipalities, he said and added that the EU will closely follow the implementation of the two sides’ obligations.