Deputy Prime Minister and Chief Negotiator of Kosovo for the dialogue with Serbia, Besnik Bislimi, will participate in the planned meeting on Wednesday in Brussels within the framework of the dialogue for the normalization of relations with Serbia, said his political advisor Klisman Kadiu to Radio Free Europe.
“I can confirm that Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi will be in Brussels tomorrow,” the response stated.
Meanwhile, in a response to Radio Free Europe, EU spokesperson Peter Stano confirmed that the dialogue envoy Miroslav Lajčák will receive chief negotiators of both sides in this meeting.
“The focus will be on the implementation of the [Basic Agreement of 27 February, as well as the steps towards the de-escalation of the situation in north Kosovo,” said Stano.
The meeting between the two chief negotiators in Brussels is the fourth agreed step between Kosovo and the European Union to deescalate the situation in northern Kosovo.
On July 10, the European Union and Kosovo agreed on a series of steps that Kosovo must take as part of actions to deescalate the situation in the country’s north.
The Government of Kosovo has stated that all steps will be “finalized within a two-week period”.
Tensions in northern Kosovo have been high for several weeks, especially in June.
The situation worsened after local Serbs in the municipalities of northern Kosovo – Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok – opposed the entry of newly elected Albanian mayors into municipal buildings, with the assistance of the Kosovo Police.
The mayors won their mandates in the elections held in April this year, which the Serbs boycotted.
Due to non-compliance with the advice of the international factor to end the crisis, Kosovo has faced punitive measures from the EU.
The EU’s punitive measures against Kosovo include: the temporary suspension of the work of the bodies created based on the Stabilization and Association Agreement, Kosovo’s exclusion from high-level meetings, and the suspension of bilateral visits, except those focused on addressing the crisis in northern Kosovo within the framework of the EU-facilitated dialogue.
Kosovo and Serbia are part of the dialogue mediated by the EU for the normalization of relations since 2011.
The parties have signed a series of agreements, but not all have been implemented.
