EU ambassadors confirm Sorensen as envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue

Danish diplomat Peter Sorensen has been confirmed by European Union ambassadors for the position of the bloc's special representative for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

Sorensen has been selected by the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, to replace Miroslav Lajcak in this position.

EU foreign ministers will give their final consent on Monday, so that Sorensen can start his term at the beginning of February.

The current envoy, Lajcak, expires on January 31st.

Radio Free Europe had learned days earlier from diplomatic sources in the EU that Sorensen's name had also been sent for approval to the bloc's member states.

Sorensen has extensive diplomatic experience in EU structures. He is currently Senior Advisor at the EU External Action Service (EEAS) for digital diplomacy.

During his diplomatic career in the EU, Sorensen has held several posts in the Western Balkans. He served as the EU Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Head of the EU Office in Sarajevo. He was also Head of the European Union Delegation in Skopje.

Previously, Sorensen also worked as an advisor in Kosovo at the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and was also the special representative of the EU High Representative in Serbia.

In the Balkans, he also worked in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Croatia.

His experience from the region is said to have been one of the arguments why Kaja Kallas decided that he would be Lajcak's successor.

The name of former Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, who also has knowledge of developments in the Western Balkans, also competed for the position of dialogue facilitator.

The name of former Slovenian President and Prime Minister Borut Pahor was also mentioned for these roles. Last year, he admitted that he was interested in this position. However, in January of this year, he said that he would not run for this position, as he understood that it required more of a diplomatic than a political level.

Otherwise, during Lajcak's nearly five-year mandate, Kosovo and Serbia have reached an agreement on the path towards normalizing relations.

The agreement, which has not been signed, is legally binding on the parties, the bloc said. The EU has accused Kosovo and Serbia of failing to start implementing the pact, saying it would affect the two countries' path towards European integration.

The dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, mediated by the European Union, began in 2011. During the process, several agreements were reached, but few of them have been implemented on the ground./ REL