Kosovo should improve relations with Serbia to progress towards EU membership – Tusk

President of the European Council Donald Tusk urged Kosovo on Thursday to improve relations with Serbia in order to progress towards its long-term goal of European Union membership. Kosovo and five other Western Balkan nations seeking EU membership must all tackle corruption and organized crime, improve human rights and media freedoms and resolve any disputes with their neighbors before they can join, Reuters said. Kosovo, which is not recognized as an independent state by five current EU members or by Belgrade, is still far from membership talks. In 2013, it committed along with Serbia to an EU-sponsored dialogue to improve ties, although little progress has been made since then. “Without a comprehensive normalization of relations with Serbia and full implementation of the agreements, I don’t see how a breakthrough in relations with the EU could be achieved,” Tusk told a joint news conference with Kosovo President Hashim Thaci in Pristina.