European Union Foreign Ministers will discuss on Monday the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the recent tensions between the two countries.<\/p>\n
The ministers are expected to have an \u201cexchange of views on the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue, following the increase in tensions in northern Kosovo\u201d.<\/p>\n
It is expected that the EU\u2019s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell will brief the ministers, and discussions on this topic will continue afterwards.<\/p>\n
No formal conclusions or decisions are expected, except for discussions on the measures that the European bloc can take to persuade parties to take immediate steps to reduce tensions.<\/p>\n
The European Union has anticipated a decrease in tensions following the recent meetings that Borrell had with the two leaders in Brussel a week ago.<\/p>\n
The leaders did not meet each other but only with Borrell, individually.<\/p>\n
Tensions in northern Kosovo have increased since May 26, when new Albanian mayors of municipalities in the north, which are predominantly inhabited by Serbs, entered the municipal buildings in Zve\u010dan, Leposavi\u0107, and Zubin Potok.<\/p>\n
The Serbian population, which boycotted the elections, has opposed the actions of the mayors and has continuously held protests in front of the buildings.<\/p>\n
Tensions further escalated when the authorities of Serbia arrested three members of the Kosovo Police.<\/p>\n
Kosovo stated that it was an abduction, while Serbia claimed that the police officers were arrested on Serbian territory.<\/p>\n
In recent days, the authorities of Kosovo have been arresting several members of the Serbian community suspected of involvement in violence against members of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, the Kosovo Police, and journalists reporting from the north.<\/p>\n
Serbia and members of the Serbian community in Kosovo consider these arrests to be arbitrary.<\/p>\n
The international community has called on Kosovo and Serbia to urgently reduce tensions and for Pristina to organize new elections.<\/p>\n
The situation in Kosovo and the EU-facilitated dialogue will also be topics of discussion in several other high-level meetings in the EU this week.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the EU Special Representative for the dialogue Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k, and the Director-General in the European Commission\u2019s Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Jan Koopman will participate in a discussion in the European Parliament on the recent developments in the relations between Kosovo and Serbia.<\/p>\n
This discussion will take place in the Foreign Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n
It is expected to address recent meetings held with the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107, as well as the measures that the European Commission has already taken against Kosovo as punitive measures for the developments in the north.<\/p>\n
So far, several joint meetings between the European Commission and Kosovo, based on the Stabilization and Association Agreement, have been canceled.<\/p>\n
The situation in Kosovo and the process of normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia are expected to be topics of discussion at the European Council meeting, the summit of the member states\u2019 leaders.<\/p>\n
According to EU diplomats, this indicates the dedication but also the concern that the bloc has for the situation in Kosovo and the relations between Pristina and Belgrade.<\/p>\n
These meetings are expected to call on Kosovo and Serbia to immediately reduce tensions and return to dialogue.<\/p>\n
However, the two countries are also expected to be warned about the consequences they may face if they do not demonstrate a willingness for measured and constructive behavior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
European Union Foreign Ministers will discuss on Monday the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the recent tensions between the two countries. The ministers are expected to have an \u201cexchange of views on the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue, following the increase in tensions in northern Kosovo\u201d. It is expected that the EU\u2019s High Representative for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":56314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[2471,308,2325,300,1929,150,243,151,2203,301,2047],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n