Rohde: The CSM is an obligation of Kosovo; we expect that it will be continued in the direction of de-escalation

The Ambassador of Germany in Pristina, Jorn Rohde, said today that with the agreements of 2013 and 2015, Kosovo had undertaken a legal obligation to establish the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities in accordance with the Constitution and that it was expected to fully implement the EU plan for de-escalation in the north, Albanian Post reports.

Rohde said that, if Pristina fully approached de-escalation, the EU's punitive measures would be withdrawn.

"The measures announced by the EU and reflected by the federal government are reversible at any time. But for this we need to see the moves of the Kosovo Government, to de-escalate the situation in the north. For this, the EU presented a three-point plan: Withdrawal of the Kosovo Police, as well as of all elected municipal mayors, from municipal administration buildings. Two mayors, in Zubin Potok and Zvecan, are already working 'remotely' and show that it works. New elections in four northern municipalities with full participation of Kosovo Serbs. Constructive engagement of Kosovo and Serbia in dialogue with the mediation of the EU and the establishment of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities is explicitly included here," Rohde said in an interview with the Albanian Post.

He said that it was expected that Pristina and Belgrade would quickly implement these measures.

Rohde added that the Government of Kosovo had reduced the presence of the police in the northern municipalities by 25 percent and expressed the hope that they would continue with the implementation of other obligations.

When asked if the German Government had information about the smuggling of weapons from Serbia to Kosovo and the use of the SOC in all this, as claimed by the British MP Alicia Kearns, Rohde pointed out that his Government did not have such information.

"In this case, let me refer to EULEX announcements. The federal government also does not have such information," Rohde said.

Speaking about de-escalation in the north, he said that he expected Kosovo to listen to its partners and implement a three-step plan in that direction.

"We, as a close partner of Kosovo, as well as all other partners of Kosovo, including the EU, the Quint, and Kosovo's neighboring states, expect Kosovo to respond to the three-point plan presented by the EU. New outbreaks of violence, similar to those of May 29, 2023, are not in anyone's interest. We have already said several times that we hoped that the Government would accept the advice of its friends and partners," Rohde repeated.

When it comes to the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, Rohde reminds that in 2013 and 2015, Kosovo undertook the legal obligation to establish the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

"Based on this, we and our partners request the establishment of the Community, also in accordance with the specifications of the Constitutional Court, which ensures that a "state within a state" of Kosovo Serbs is not created. Various actors have presented possible statutes for the establishment of the Community, or at least led discussions about the statutes, among them, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Embassy of the United States of America in Kosovo, and even the Prime Minister of Albania made a proposal. Only the Government of Kosovo, as the main actor in this matter, is still silent about the statute proposals," Rohde points out.

Answering the question of whether there could be a mass exodus of Kosovo citizens after visa liberalization, since the prices of all products in Kosovo had doubled, and salaries were still low, Rohde said that visa liberalization from January 2024 applied to short stays.

From that moment, the German Ambassador emphasizes, that the citizens of Kosovo have the right to travel to the countries of the Schengen zone and to stay there for a maximum of 90 days in a 180-day period.

"This does not give you the right to a longer stay and, in principle, you are not allowed to perform employment activities either. In the case of planning long-term employment, a visa is also necessary. One of the important points of our development cooperation is precisely the strengthening of the labor market in the country. And through further regional integration, as well as the rapprochement of the EU with its huge internal market, and among other things within the framework of the Berlin process, we are laying the foundations for prosperity and economic growth in Kosovo," Rohde concluded.