EU leaders and governments have strongly condemned the “violent attack on the Kosovo Police”, which occurred in Banjska, Zvecan, on September 24.

“The European Union expects the perpetrators to be arrested and brought before justice promptly, and for Serbia to cooperate fully and take all necessary steps in this direction,” it said in the conclusions adopted at the end of the summit.

At the end of the two-day meeting held in Brussels, EU leaders expressed deep concern over the security situation in north Kosovo.

Kosovo and Serbia have been asked to continue their efforts to reduce tensions and ensure that new elections in north Kosovo are held as soon as possible, with the active participation of Kosovo Serbs.

“Failing to reduce tensions will have consequences,” the conclusions said, among other things.

EU leaders expressed regret for the failure to implement the agreement reached in February between Kosovo and Serbia to normalize relations.

The EU has called on both countries to implement all previous agreements without delay and without conditions, including the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo.

“Normalizing relations is a fundamental condition on the European path for both parties, and both risk losing significant opportunities in the absence of progress,” the documents say.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić were received on Thursday in separate meetings by the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, as well as the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and the EU’s special representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák.

The meetings, described as an effort to revive the dialogue on normalizing relations, ended without agreement between the parties.

According to EU leaders, the precondition set by the parties prevented the conclusion of a reconciliation.

After the meetings, Kurti said that only the signing of agreements with the neighboring country guarantees their implementation, while Serbian President Vučić insisted on the implementation of “what has been signed”.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who mediates the Kosovo-Serbia normalization talks, said the agreement between the two sides was not possible because “the preconditions of one party were unacceptable to the other”.

He confirmed that the discussion in Brussels was about the new proposal by Western diplomats on the status of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, presented in Pristina and Belgrade on October 21.

“The parties were not willing to agree without preconditions, which are unacceptable to the other party. In the end, we demand that the parties engage sincerely in the normalization process,” Borrell said.

According to him, this “can only be done within the framework of dialogue because it is the only way to advance on the European path”.

“We will continue to insist and work to reach an agreement. But today [Thursday], unfortunately, it was not possible,” the chief European diplomat said.

Scholz: Both countries are willing to implement agreements

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić have confirmed their readiness to implement all agreed-upon agreements.

He assessed this step as “important and in the right direction”.

“We will now closely monitor whether this will indeed happen,” Scholz said.

“Both countries want to join the EU. They need to become the best neighbors. This is most successful when those at the top, the heads of governments or the heads of states themselves, ensure that this happens,” Scholz said, among other things.

Macron calls for the implementation of all agreements

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he expects Kosovo and Serbia to implement all agreements.

“We are calling for the implementation of the Brussels Agreement (on the normalization of relations), the Ohrid Agreement, as well as the implementation of the agreement on the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo,” the French President said at the end of the meeting.

He condemned the attack in Banjska and said that he also expects President Vučić to condemn that act and take measures after investigations.