Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic stated that EULEX is not cooperating with the Interior Ministry (MUP) to a sufficient degree, although they signed a protocol on police cooperation.

Dacic said that EULEX and Serbian MUP are not making full use of the potentials for cooperation in the fight against organised crime, illegal migrations, various modes of smuggling, terrorism and drug, weapon and human trafficking.

In an interview for the Saturday edition of the Belgrade-based daily Danas, the minister said that he complained about this point to EU mediator in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Robert Cooper during the official's recent visit to Belgrade.

He also said that the Serbian MUP does not have a tangible deadline for strating the implementation of the agreement on freedom of movement reached between Belgrade and Pristina, adding that the Ministry discussed this matter earlier as well and offered solutions to certain problems.

On numerous occasions, we faced the problem of administrative border crossing and foreigners coming from Kosovo-Metohija with the intention of crossing that border, Dacic said and added that various protests and complaints could be heard in these cases.

We should find a common denominator that would not interfere with the status but would make it feasible for life to be as normal as possible on both sides of the administrative line, the minister said.

We quoted solutions that exist in other countries with similar disputes, such as Greece and Macedonia, the minister said and added that this is not an issue of the status but that of documents. Dacic also said that the MUP is not in charge of conducting the political dialogue but that it simply carries out decisions of government bodies.

Dacic also stated that in addition to expressing Serbian MUP's desire for cooperation with EULEX to be improved, he talked to Cooper about the need for defusing the situation that came into being after the replacement of commander in northern Kosovo and about the need for EULEX to maintain its status-neutral position if it wants the support of the Serbian community in Kosovo.

Dacic conferred with Cooper in Belgrade on July 13, and on this occasion the EU official expressed satisfaction with the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and the constructive role which the Serbian MUP plays in the process. The two officials also discussed freedom of movement, the implementation of which falls under the Ministry's jurisdiction.