The meeting of IBM Implementation Group
Brussels, 18 March 2014
Led by Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri, the delegation of Kosovo stayed in Brussels to participate the following meeting on the implementation of the IBM Agreement and of the Technical Protocol.
With the mediation of the European Union, the tripartite working group discussed important aspects of the implementation of the IBM agreement.
The focus of the meeting was the conclusion of certain aspects related to the issue of the construction of IBM permanent facilities at all six border crossings between the two countries. These permanent IBM facilities, will enable advanced border control, that will further facilitate the movement of people and goods, and will increase security and inter-neighbourly cooperation.
The European Commission reaffirmed its commitment to fund the construction of these IBM border crossings.
In this meeting, parties also discussed on the implementation of the agreement on mutual legal assistance.
Parties also focused their discussions on improving the implementation of the IBM agreement. Both sides presented the achievements and addressed the challenges in this regard, with particular emphasis on the recent problems with Phyto-sanitary certificates; where the Serbian side had acted contrary to the agreement. However, after the reciprocal measures of the institutions of Kosovo and with the mediation of the EU, the Serbian side pledged to implement the agreement accurately and to overcome the challenges in this area.
The Kosovo delegation also raised other issues related to the free movement of people and goods, demanding that the Brussels agreements are fully respected.
The delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Edita Tahiri also included Dren Zeka, Chief Political Adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Tahiri; Fisnik Rexhepi, Political Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs; Shaban Guda, Assistant Director for Border Affairs at the Kosovo Police; Valdet Gjinovci, Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Veterinary Agency; Murat Meha, Chief Executive Officer of the Kosovo Cadastral Agency; and Bekim Mehmetaj, Director for IBM at Kosovo Customs.