The Government of Kosovo announced on Tuesday it will reduce the number of police personnel in the buildings of the four Serbian-majority municipalities in the north by 25% and will hold new elections in these municipalities at the end of the summer.
These decisions were announced after a meeting in Bratislava between the EU Special Envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Miroslav Lajčák, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo Besnik Bislimi.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora in Kosovo, Donika Gërvalla, provided details on the agreement reached between Kosovo and the European Union in an exclusive interview to Euronews Albania.
When asked by Euronews Albania journalist Thimi Samarxhiu when will this agreement be implemented, the Minister shared the next steps the Government will take.
“Next week, there will be a meeting of the chief negotiators, because only the implementation of that agreement can be a long-term strategy. Crisis issues will not bring success in normalizing our relations. We are preparing to be ready after the summer break, as long as the other party cooperates, we are ready to continue with repeat elections in those municipalities. But there is a specific procedure, which we have agreed upon and which requires the necessary cooperation from the other side. If [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vučić continues with his pressure for Serbs not to participate, then it will be impossible for us to hold elections in an unbiased manner,” said Kosovo’s Foreign Minister.
Gërvalla said that accepting EU’s plan is not a withdrawal from the previous positions of the Kosovo government, but only an effort to normalize the situation.
“Finding a rational solution that unblocks the situation in our four municipalities, I do not see it as a withdrawal. Wisdom and finding dialogue with our allies, I don’t know why it is seen as a withdrawal. We need to offer a normal and suitable life to our citizens in those four municipalities, but on the other hand, Serbian President [Aleksandar] Vučić is not concerned about the four municipalities, just as the essence of the issue has not been the license plate problem. Therefore, we need a long-term strategy with our partners, because if we only solve conflicts and crises caused by Serbia, we will not make any progress,” Gërvalla further added.
When asked about the role of the EU envoy Miroslav Lajčák in facilitating the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the Kosovo Government minister stated that the EU had opportunities to do more.
“I think there was a greater chance, with a better and concrete strategy and plan, for the dialogue to yield better results. Oftentimes, the dialogue has been merely for handshakes and photo opportunities, so we are not interested in a pseudo-dialogue. We are interested in the normalization of relations, and we believe that mutual recognition will be the element that will bring long-term peace and stability to our region,” the Minister concluded.
Since May, tensions have escalated in the four Serbian-majority municipalities in Kosovo following the election of new Albanian mayors who emerged from elections boycotted by Serbs.
