We would like to thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General for his comprehensive briefing. We also welcome the Foreign Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia to their first Security Council UNMIK’ briefing and thank them for the statements.
Estonia commends Mr. Tanin for leading the work of UNMIK in helping to ensure Kosovo’s democratic development and advance regional stability in the Western Balkans. We appreciate UNMIK’s support for women’s participation in decision-making processes, as well as for initiatives aimed at the youth and the fight against gender-based violence. We particularly commend the supportive activities taken by UNMIK in helping Kosovo’s local authorities and communities to alleviate the challenges caused by pandemic.
We welcome the formation of the new Kosovo Assembly and government as well as the election of the new Kosovo President. Now that all institutions in Kosovo have been formed, the EU Facilitated Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue should continue without delay. In this regard, we fully support the efforts of the EU High Representative Josep Borrell and the EU Special Representative Miroslaw Lajčák. It is crucial that in the end all open issues will be solved. We encourage Serbia and Kosovo to engage more with the civil societies, in particular with women and youth, as they can significantly contribute to the solutions on the issues at the negotiation table.
We urge both governments of Serbia and Kosovo to advance on their European path. This will require to take forward reforms, guided by the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the European Reform Agenda, as well as regional cooperation. We hereby stress the importance of strengthening the rule of law, in particular the fight against corruption and organised crime, and the need to promote socio-economic development.
Kosovo has shown continued commitment to the Specialist Chambers in the past period. We support the work of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. Full cooperation with these institutions remains essential as an important demonstration of Kosovo’s commitment to the rule of law. We would like to highlight that EULEX maintained its operational capability and continued its monitoring and advising as well as operational activities even during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the cooperation with EU has become increasingly more significant in Kosovo, we would welcome a strategic review of UNMIK in due course.
Finally, we call on Serbia and Kosovo to engage in good faith, in a spirit of compromise and to work on reaching a legally binding comprehensive agreement on the normalisation of relations in accordance with international la’w and the EU acquis. This agreement will contribute to the stability of the region and is crucial for both to take further steps on their respective European paths.
Thank you.
