Borrell: Kosovo to urgently suspend police actions near municipal buildings in the north

The High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, spoke about the events in the north of Kosovo and called on Pristina and Belgrade to take measures for de-escalation, or, as he states, the failure of such actions will lead to negative consequences.

Borrell, on behalf of the European Union, strongly condemned violent acts against citizens, KFOR troops, law enforcement authorities, and the media in the north of Kosovo, believing that violence could have been avoided and had to be avoided in the future.

"The European Union firmly stands behind the NATO mission and the EULEX mission in fulfilling their mandates. We call on both Kosovo and Serbia to immediately and unconditionally take measures for de-escalation, stop using the rhetoric of division, and refrain from any further uncoordinated actions. Peace needs to be restored urgently," he emphasized.

As he stated, the European Union was ready to implement decisive measures, while failure to de-escalate tensions would lead to negative consequences.

"We expect Kosovo to act in a non-escalating manner and to immediately suspend police operations near municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo. Mayors should temporarily perform their duties in premises other than municipal buildings. Early elections should be called as soon as possible in all four municipalities and organized in a fully inclusive manner. We expect the participation of Kosovo Serbs in these elections," he said.

He expressed concern about the status of the highest readiness of the Serbian Armed Forces and called for responsibility.

"The European Union expects both Kosovo and Serbia to behave responsibly and to immediately engage in the dialogue led by the EU in order to find a sustainable solution to the situation in the north of Kosovo that guarantees safety, security, and participatory democracy for all citizens and paves the way for implementation of the Agreement on the Normalization Path and its Annex. This includes the start of work on the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities without further delay or preconditions," Borrell said.