The Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, and the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel will stay in Belgrade and Pristina on 3-4 July.

Rutte and Bettel will initially visit Zagreb, and on Monday, they will stay in Belgrade, where they will meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić.

A day later, they will be in Pristina and meet with the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, and Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

The visit of the two European Prime Ministers was planned several months ago. However, they will use this trip to deliver the message of the European Union and NATO to the leaders in Kosovo and Serbia regarding the need to reduce tensions, calm the situation in northern Kosovo, and return to the dialogue mediated by Brussels.

The Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo was also supposed to participate in this visit. However, he canceled his participation due to an internal political crisis.

According to diplomatic sources, this visit was planned as a “common approach of Benelux” on several important issues in the Western Balkans region. These three states are highly interested in close cooperation, especially in matters related to migration.

In addition to the European integration process of the region’s states, the Benelux countries have always been interested in these states cooperating to prevent massive migration towards the EU, repatriating their citizens who illegally stay in the EU, and collaborating with these countries in combating trafficking.

Although the Belgian Prime Minister will not be present on this visit, the heads of government of the Netherlands and Luxembourg will also present Belgium’s positions. These three states traditionally cooperate on many foreign policy issues and have common stances within the EU whenever it aligns with their national interests.

The visit of the leaders of the Netherlands and Luxembourg comes at a time when tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated.

Tensions began in late May when the new Albanian mayors of Zvečan, Leposavić, and Zubin Potok entered municipal buildings with the assistance of the Kosovo Police, despite opposition from local Serbs.

The international community has called on Kosovo and Serbia to reduce tensions and hold new elections in the four municipalities in the north.