EU leaders and governments have strongly condemned the \u201cviolent attack on the Kosovo Police\u201d, which occurred in Banjska, Zvecan, on September 24.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d it said in the conclusions adopted at the end of the summit.<\/p>\n
At the end of the two-day meeting held in Brussels, EU leaders expressed deep concern over the security situation in north Kosovo.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cFailing to reduce tensions will have consequences,\u201d the conclusions said, among other things.<\/p>\n
EU leaders expressed regret for the failure to implement the agreement reached in February between Kosovo and Serbia to normalize relations.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormalizing relations is a fundamental condition on the European path for both parties, and both risk losing significant opportunities in the absence of progress,\u201d the documents say.<\/p>\n
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 were received on Thursday in separate meetings by the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, as well as the EU\u2019s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and the EU\u2019s special representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k.<\/p>\n
The meetings, described as an effort to revive the dialogue on normalizing relations, ended without agreement between the parties.<\/p>\n
According to EU leaders, the precondition set by the parties prevented the conclusion of a reconciliation.<\/p>\n
After the meetings, Kurti said that only the signing of agreements with the neighboring country guarantees their implementation, while Serbian President Vu\u010di\u0107 insisted on the implementation of \u201cwhat has been signed\u201d.<\/p>\n
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who mediates the Kosovo-Serbia normalization talks, said the agreement between the two sides was not possible because \u201cthe preconditions of one party were unacceptable to the other\u201d.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d Borrell said.<\/p>\n
According to him, this \u201ccan only be done within the framework of dialogue because it is the only way to advance on the European path\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to insist and work to reach an agreement. But today [Thursday], unfortunately, it was not possible,\u201d the chief European diplomat said.<\/p>\n
Scholz: Both countries are willing to implement agreements<\/strong><\/p>\n However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that Kosovo\u2019s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 have confirmed their readiness to implement all agreed-upon agreements.<\/p>\n He assessed this step as \u201cimportant and in the right direction\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will now closely monitor whether this will indeed happen,\u201d Scholz said.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth 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,\u201d Scholz said, among other things.<\/p>\n Macron calls for the implementation of all agreements<\/strong><\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he expects Kosovo and Serbia to implement all agreements.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d the French President said at the end of the meeting.<\/p>\n He condemned the attack in Banjska and said that he also expects President Vu\u010di\u0107 to condemn that act and take measures after investigations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" EU leaders and governments have strongly condemned the \u201cviolent attack on the Kosovo Police\u201d, which occurred in Banjska, Zvecan, on September 24. \u201cThe 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,\u201d it said in the conclusions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":61992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[2695,865,308,3208,1162,281,300,1929,1098,243,151,383,2203,301,787],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n