German envoy denies Pristina media report on German-French non-paper on Kosovo

He tweeted that some document could exist but had nothing to do with either Berlin or Paris, adding Germany fully supported the Belgarde - Pristina dialogue on the normalisation of relations led by the European Union and Miroslav Lajčák, as German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said in Pristina on Thursday.

https://twitter.com/GermanAmbKOS/status/1386929392602042371
Pristina daily Koha said late on Monday the document was a joint initiative by official Paris and Berlin but could not confirm its authenticity. Unnamed diplomats quoted by the daily allegedly confirmed that parts of the non-paper were in line with what the dialogue was expected to focus on.

The document says that the European Union will continue to facilitate the process leading to a legally binding agreement to resolve all open questions and achieve progress on the path to Europe.

"Kosovo should no impose trade barriers on Serbia and Serbia should respect the status quo in terms of Kosovo’s international presence with both sides respecting the moratorium on the international scene,” it said.

According to Koha, the document says that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti will conduct talks to finalize the agreement to normalize relations and should complete the process by the end of February 2022. That process, Koha said, will be based on several key elements in line with the Paris Treaty, Helsinki Final Act and 2005 Contact Group principles on the status of Kosovo and will ensure the implementation of agreements reached in Brussels. Both sides will respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

The two sides should also reach an agreement on establishing the “autonomous district of northern Kosovo” as a separate administrative unit that would have regional legislative control on the economy, finances, infrastructure, culture, education, health care, social security, the judiciary, police, urban development and European cooperation in line with the constitution of Kosovo. The autonomous district would include the majority-Serb municipalities of Zvecan, Leposavic, Mitrovica North and Zubin Potok.

The document also calls for special status for the Serbian Orthodox Church allowing it to operate unobstructed, “as a self-governing part of Kosovo’s political and constitutional system” headed by the Patriarch whose seat is in the Patriarchate of Pec.

The non-paper says that both sides would have to amend their constitutions to ensure the implementation of the agreement with Serbia agreeing not to oppose Kosovo’s request for membership in international organizations and both sides recognizing each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

The alleged non-paper on Kosovo followed another such document said to have been drafted by the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa about the changes of the Western Balkans borders. Ljubljana denied the existence of the document, and several EU institutions had done the same.