Dozens of Kosovo Albanians protested a EU-backed deal Saturday to normalize ties with Serbia and the prime minister's plan to establish the Union of Serbian Municipalities. The EU's proposal to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia which will lead to the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities was protested in front of the Prime Minister's Office in the capital, Pristina. Demonstrators carried pictures of Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Parliament Speaker Glauk Konjufca with long noses implying that they are 'liars like Pinocchio." Instead of state flags, demonstrators hung white flags on government buildings, symbolizing the surrender of the government and threw black smoke bombs because the Kurti government has 'darkened Kosovo's perspective," said protesters. The protest lasted about an hour and ended without incident. The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo agreed on how to implement the EU-backed deal in the last round of talks March 18 in North Macedonia. The agreement came after 12 hours of talks between Kurti, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and EU officials. The EU announced Feb. 27 that Serbia and Kosovo agreed to sign a proposal to normalize ties after a meeting in Brussels. The parties later agreed on how to implement the agreement, according to EU officials. Serbia-Kosovo dialogue The EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue that was launched in 2011 aims to find a mutually agreeable solution for disputes in the framework of a legally binding agreement. Following a flareup in border tensions last summer, EU special representative for the talks, Miroslav Lajcak, presented the bloc's latest proposal on normalizing in September. The EU requires Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final agreement and resolve disputes to progress in their integration into the bloc. Most UN member states, including the US, UK, France, Germany and Trkiye, recognized Kosovo as a separate country after it declared independence from Serbia 15 years ago. Serbia continues to regard it as its territory. Vucic said last October that Germany and France had offered to expedite Serbia's EU membership process if it recognized Kosovo's independence and allowed it to become a member of international organizations. According to the leaked proposal, Kosovo should allow the establishment of a union of Serbian municipalities in the north, where many ethnic Serbs live. EU officials hope to complete negotiations on the plan this spring with Brussels facilitating the talks.
Source: Anadolu Agency