Ambassador Jacobson's interview for Voice of America - Serbian Service

December 28, 2012

Ambassador Jacobson's interview for Voice of America - Serbian Service

B. Nicic: Ms. Jacobson, your position on the Belgrade Platform for Kosovo? President Nikolic has announced it will, possibly with some changes, be adopted by the Serbian Assembly.

Amb. Jacobson: Well, my government is focused entirely on the EU-facilitated dialogue that’s taking place in Brussels.  This is the focus of the Government of Kosovo as well. We’ve seen some good results from this dialogue so far in this year, and we’re looking forward to further results in the next year on some challenging issues.  Any other sort of initiative, like the platform, is an unhelpful distraction.

B. Nicic: Your advice to Belgrade and Pristina negotiators in further process, and how does the dialogue reflect on everyday lives of the Serb communities in Kosovo, both south and north of the Ibar River?

Amb. Jacobson: Well, I’m hoping that the dialogue – we all hope that the dialogue will lead to normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which will be extremely useful for everybody, not only members of minorities, but everybody in the country, because I think the dialogue is working towards a solution in the future that will allow the country to be more stable, that will allow foreign investment and local investment which will allow economic development, and which will make changes – positive changes – in the lives of the real people, who are, in a way, held hostage to the situation that exists today.

B. Nicic: Should Serb representatives within Kosovo’s institutions have more significant role in further dialogue, and what would they be expected from?

Amb. Jacobson: Well, I always say that Kosovo’s efforts in a dialogue with Serbia will benefit from wide participation by a variety of actors, and a variety voices.  So, I think it’s important that the Prime Minister who is conducting the dialogue with Prime Minister Dacic is getting advice and ideas from broad sectors of society, including of course everyone that is affected by the dialogue.  I know that he has consulted regularly with Serb politicians, both at the national and local level, that he regularly briefs the Assembly when he comes back from Brussels, and I think this kind of outreach and internal discussion is important, and I hope it will continue.

B. Nicic: Has past year 2012 brought a significant change in the rule of law in Kosovo and what are the expectations for year 2013 of the US Administration in that respect?

Amb. Jacobson:  I think there’s been a lot of progress made and we are very proud of the role that we’ve played in that progress.  You probably know that, in addition to our contribution to EULEX, which is 33 detailees, we have two prosecutors here from the Department of Justice, and eight police advisers who have been working directly with the Government of Kosovo and with Kosovo institutions to help build up their capacity.  I think we are seeing some real results of that in terms of new legislation that goes into effect on the 1^st of January: Criminal Code, Criminal Procedures Code, Law on Courts, and other laws that are coming up.  We hope that these new pieces of legislation will provide a solid foundation for Kosovo’s rule of law efforts going forward.  At the same time, we’ve been providing training and advice to police and prosecutors, particularly in terms of organized crime, corruption, complex crime, money laundering, how to track all these issues.  So it’s a work in progress, but when you think about the fact that Kosovo has only been independent since 2008, it’s really quite remarkable.  But, much more needs to be done, and we are ready to cooperate with all the institutions in Kosovo going forward.

B. Nicic: Since the assistance funds from the international community are significantly decreasing, will the U.S. people continue funding communities in Kosovo in the same scope next year as it did so far?

Amb. Jacobson: Well, we are very proud of our long-term partnership with Kosovo, with our good relationship and cooperation with minorities in Kosovo, with our projects that work in terms of local governance and municipalities, I even visited one yesterday.  We’re going to continue that cooperation. We don’t have a 2013 budget yet for my government, but I’m not anticipating any serious drop in funding, because our commitment to Kosovo is the result of a bipartisan consensus, it is shared by the Congress, and the Administration.  And I look forward to having that kind of cooperation continue in the future and, in fact, our colleagues in Washington who make funding decisions are able to see the progress, the concrete results from the assistance that we provide.  Kosovo is a great investment for us.

B.Nicic: Ms. Jacobson, thank you for talking to the Voice of America.