Vucic in Tivat: Resolution 1244 and three conditions for Cluster 3
While Montenegro secured the start of work on its accession treaty at the Tivat summit, Serbia remains on hold, with Vucic placing Kosovo and Resolution 1244 above all topics and listing his conditions for Cluster 3.
- Aleksandar Vucic represented Serbia at the European Union and Western Balkans summit held in Tivat on June 5.
- Vucic said that respect for the UN Charter and Resolution 1244 on Kosovo is, in his words, a priority a thousand times greater and more serious than other matters.
- To open Cluster 3, he said, Serbia must complete three reform tasks: what the Venice Commission requires, the ODIHR recommendations, and the formation of the REM Council.
- At the same summit Montenegro secured the start of work on its accession treaty, while Serbia remains on hold.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic represented Serbia at the European Union and Western Balkans summit in Tivat, held on June 5, where the enlargement theme was framed by a clear contrast between the two neighboring states. According to reports from the gathering, Montenegro secured the start of work on its accession treaty, while Serbia remains on hold in that process.
In the Serbian part of the summit, the dynamics of the negotiating phase were not the focus. The question of Kosovo was. Speaking about priorities, Vucic said that respect for the United Nations Charter and Resolution 1244 is, for him, a topic that stands above all others. That is his position, stated at the gathering, and not a shared conclusion of the summit.
What does Vucic want and what conditions does he set for Cluster 3?
In Vucic’s words, the question of Kosovo and Resolution 1244 carries weight that outranks the other items on the agenda.
Respect for the UN Charter and Resolution 1244 is a priority a thousand times greater and more serious than other matters.
On the course of European integration itself, the president set out what Serbia must do to open Cluster 3. He named three tasks:
- to complete the reforms tied to the Venice Commission,
- to meet the ODIHR recommendations,
- to form the REM Council.
These obligations are not new in the dialogue between Belgrade and Brussels, but this time Vucic laid them out as a concrete list ahead of opening the next negotiating block. Two levels should be kept apart: it is confirmed that the president took part in the summit and set out these positions, while the judgment of whether and when the conditions will be met remains open.
Bilateral meetings and the message from Brussels
In Tivat, Vucic held a joint meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He also held a series of bilateral talks, with the prime ministers of Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Slovakia and Austria.
On Montenegro, the Serbian president said Serbia remains interested in joint projects, but that deeper integration is a decision made by Podgorica. With that, in his words, room was left for cooperation, alongside an acknowledgment that Montenegro chooses its own direction of integration.
From Brussels came a message that keeps the process within familiar criteria. Von der Leyen stressed that enlargement is based on merit and that Serbia must meet the conditions in the judiciary and around the REM.
The accession process is based on merit, and Serbia must meet the conditions.
This assessment by von der Leyen was set out as the Commission’s position, while the pace of progress will be decided by the fulfillment of the named reforms. Will Serbia close the tasks around the Venice Commission, ODIHR and the REM in the period ahead and so move the opening of Cluster 3, or will it stay on hold while its neighbors move forward?
