No deal between Serbs,EU on holding sessions in north Kosovo

Leposavic Mayor Dragan Jablanovic told The press that EU officials requested that invitations for inaugural sessions of the municipalities of Leposavic, Zvecan, Zubin Potok and northern Mitrovica bear the state symbols of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, which they refused."Now they are requesting that, besides on invitations for a session, the logo of the Republic of Kosovo and the designation 'Government of Kosovo' be also put in the text of the oath of office that councilors and future mayors should take. Our stand is that the documents should be status-neutral and bear no symbol of Kosovo," Jablanovic said.EU officials are expected to give an answer in relation to the issue by Monday, and inaugural sessions of the north Kosovo municipalities will most likely be held on January 9-10 when the deadline expires, he added.The closed-door meeting between EU officials and representatives of local-self governments in northern Kosovo was held in Kosovska Mitrovica on Friday. The meeting was also attended by members of the Management Team and the Serbian government's liaison officer in Pristina Dejan Pavicevic.The inaugural sessions of the four municipalities, which were due to take place on December 24, were postponed upon the request of the Serbian government and the EU, and Kosovo's Ministry of Local Government Administration announced then that the four municipalities in northern Kosovo had not met legal requirements for holding inaugural sessions.