The dialogue is expected to focus on three areas – the rule of law, freedom of movement and regional cooperation, journalists were told by a high-level Commission official who asked not to be named.
The official underlined that the goal of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue was to improve overall cooperation in the Western Balkans and to move the entire region closer to the EU. The first round of talks will be held in two parts, on the afternoons of 8-9 March. The meetings will be held in the office of Robert Cooper, a special adviser in the European External Action Service led by Catherine Ashton. On behalf of the EU, Cooper will chair meetings and propose the daily agenda.
Belgrade's delegation will be led by Serbian Foreign Ministry Political Director Borislav Stefanović, while Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri will lead the Kosovo delegation. Before the start of the meeting, EU foreign affairs Chief Catherine Ashton will make a statement giving her full support to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and the goals set, according to Commission officials.
Stefanović said on 6 March that the first issues to be discussed will be telecommunications, the cadastral map and airline travel, as well as Kosovo's customs stamps, which until now are not recognised by Serbia.
As a result of obstructions by Serbia, Kosovo – which is not a member of the UN – does not have a telephone code and uses the codes of Monaco and Slovenia for mobile communications.
On air travel, the problems are different. Planes landing at Pristina airport are not allowed into Serbian airspace and have to circumvent the country by first flying south to Macedonia, even if they are heading north.
Serbia also bars entry to travellers with Kosovo documents or registration plates. Before entering Serbian territory, Kosovo truck drivers pull over in no man's land to change their licence plates, hide their Kosovo documents and show a different set to Serbian officials.
Serbian negotiator Borislav Stefanović said, "the talks will last as long as necessary, we will try to find solutions to the most pressing issues which impact on the daily lives of Serbs in Kosovo". He added that the sides had no mandate to discuss the status of Kosovo, according to the B92 TV channel.
Kosovo negotiator Edita Tahiri said the two sides would discuss strictly technical issues and not the sovereignty and independence of Kosovo, which she said was "a closed issue".
The press in Kosovo reported that the parliament in Pristina had debated the Serbia talks on Monday (7 March), with parliamentarians deeply divided as to whether talks should be held at all.
