Borrell asks for “flexibility” after the shock caused by Pristina’s plan to replace Serbian documentation with his own
Brussels this Thursday hosted a new edition of the ‘Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue’, a forum sponsored by the European Commission since 2011 and which has not met since June 2021. The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, demanded “flexibility” from the parties after the tension was caused by the Kosovo authorities’ plan to replace the documentation provided by Belgrade with their own documents on their own. territory .
Serbian President Alexander Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti “failed to reach an agreement” to ease tensions, but “talks will continue in the coming days,” Borrell announced after the meeting.
Tension has returned to the area twenty years after the end of the war. Several groups of Serbs blocked the border posts separating the two areas in late July. It was his response to the idea of the Kosovar authorities, which claim a principle of “reciprocity”, plan to impose temporary residence permits on people entering the country with Serbian identity documents. Pristina also demanded that the Serbs living on its territory – 5% of its 1.8 million inhabitants, the vast majority Albanians – should replace the Serbian number plates on their vehicles with other Kosovar registration plates. The entry into force of the plan was eventually postponed to September.
“Recent tensions in northern Kosovo demonstrate once again that it is time to move towards full normalization. I hope leaders are open and flexible to find common ground,” Borrell emphasized. “In case of escalation, both parties are fully responsible. There is still time until September 1, he added.
Following the escalation, NATO warned the parties that its mission in Kosovo, KFOR, deployed in the Balkans, is “ready to intervene” to ensure stability in the area.
In addition to striving for normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, the EU-sponsored rounds of dialogue aim to promote their membership of the Community Club. Belgrade has had official candidate status since 2012, while Pristina is a “potential candidate”. Five EU countries, including Spain, refuse to recognize the independence of the former Serbian province.
Source: La Verdad
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