The EC spokesperson, Peter Stano said that the draft statute of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosova, which was presented to the parties in the frame of Kosova-Serbia dialogue process in Brussels, is balanced and European.

“Regarding the draft statute of the Association of Serbian Municipalities, we can only say that a new balanced European proposal for the establishment of the Association of Municipalities was presented to the relevant partners for the Prishtina-Belgrade dialogue during his visit in the region at the end of October and then it was discussed with both parties on the sidelines of European Council meeting,” he said.

Stano explains the reasons why the EU is not making public the content of the Association’s draft statute.

“The EU proposal has not been made public as diplomatic efforts are ongoing. We never disclose official documents publicly, nor do we participate in public exchanges about them while they are being discussed. We expect the same from the partners, as it is normal practice in international mediation for the process to be conducted confidentially,” said Stano.

However, he did not give a clear position on whether the EU has an assessment of which party in the dialogue process is not implementing the Brussels and Ohrid agreement.

“Implementation is the responsibility of the parties and so far they have not been able to move forward and fulfill their obligations,” EC spokesman Peter Stano said.

/a.p./