Tomic: It is clear to everyone that opening the bridge over the Ibar is not a traffic issue, but a political matter

Political scientist from Gracanica, Ivan Tomic, said that the announcement of the opening of the bridge over the Ibar and the lack of response from international representatives raise the question of why the political component of the agreement on its opening has been neglected.

Tomic explains that it is important to look at the European Commission's reports from 2024 and 2025.

“The 2024 report clearly states that the decision to open the bridge itself would be made through a political agreement, but in accordance with the situation on the ground, that is, the security situation, and through consultations with all those responsible for security. The 2025 report only states that the technical conditions have been met, that the bridge has been completed, and that, as far as the EU is concerned, the bridge meets all the conditions for opening, and that this will happen in coordination with international partners,” Tomic explains.

As he says, the question remains as to why the political component was lost during this reporting period and what happened in that regard.

“Unfortunately, we do not have much information about what is happening behind closed doors or whether any political agreement was reached at all. What we have seen from KFOR's reports and everything else is that all sides were informed in a timely manner about all these changes,” he stressed.

He also says that it is not entirely clear why the EU excluded the political component, because, according to Tomic, it is absolutely clear that opening the bridge is not merely a matter of regulating traffic, but is also a political issue.

“If we take into account that the bridge is an important point precisely in our lives and in the lives of the residents of Mitrovica. We are well aware that various incidents have occurred there in the recent period and in previous decades, and the international community has set all of that aside. They were probably looking at the bigger picture at this point. When they talk about security, they probably mean that there is no possibility of a large-scale conflict occurring, while, on the other hand, we have the absurd situation that some of the most serious attacks against Serbs in northern Kosovo and Metohija are taking place at this very moment,” he explained.

He recalled the daily attacks, arrests, and raids taking place in the four municipalities north of the Ibar.

“These are constant attacks, and in that sense I believe that the European Union has completely neglected this. We will see how and in what way the process of transferring responsibility and its assumption by the Kosovo Police will unfold, at what pace, and what will happen precisely in those first days and weeks once it occurs, and whether the situation on the ground will escalate or whether we will have at least some degree of peace and stability in that area,” Tomic concluded.