BRUSSELS Serbia and Kosovo returned to EU-mediated talks on Friday

 

BRUSSELS Serbia and Kosovo returned to EU-mediated talks on Friday for the first time since border clashes erupted this summer, as Belgrade faced growing pressure to normalise ties with Pristina. The top negotiators from the once-warring sides voiced hope that they would find a breakthrough to bury a trade dispute that was at the root of the violence centred on border posts in July. “We come with optimism that we will have the strength and wisdom to resolve those things,” the senior Serbian official, Borko Stefanovic, said on arrival at the Brussels talks. His Kosovan counterpart, Edita Tahiri, said the onus was on Belgrade to be constructive.   “It’s for Serbia to decide if they want to be consistent with European principles and values,” she said. The EU called for progress on the eve of the sixth meeting between the two sides, which are seeking to resolve practical problems encountered by inhabitants of the disputed territory of Kosovo. “It is vital that the resumed Belgrade-Pristina dialogue now delivers further results that will improve the lives of people and enhance peace, security and stability in the region,” said EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele late on Thursday. Fuele said that while recognising Kosovo was not a “formal condition” for Serbia’s bid to join the EU, “solutions need to be found to a number of outstanding issues which still prevent the normalisation of relations.” Serbia took a giant step towards realising its EU aspirations this year, when it finally captured and handed over the last two Balkan war crimes fugitives, former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic and Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, to a UN court. But the Kosovo imbroglio, 12 years after a war over the territory, is a crucial issue for Serbia to resolve as it seeks to secure EU candidate status this year. While 22 of 27 EU states have recognised Kosovo’s declaration of independence, Belgrade refuses to accept it. German Chancellor Angela Merkel outlined a set of conditions for Serbia’s candidacy during a visit to Belgrade last week, saying Serbia must show results in the talks and dismantle parallel administrative structures in northern Kosovo. Belgrade is hoping that by making concessions at the talks it can avoid having to dismantle its municipal councils, courts and schools in Kosovo, which Serbs consider the cradle of their civilisation. For now, the two sides are trying to resolve their dispute over the recognition of customs stamps, the source of the latest crisis.