The European Union will once again call on Serbia to “urgently” bring those responsible for the violence in northern Kosovo in 2023 to justice and to fully cooperate on these cases.
This call is expected to be part of the conclusions on enlargement, which will include Serbia and are expected to be approved later this month by the EU’s General Affairs Council.
Radio Free Europe had access to the draft of these conclusions, in which Serbia is also urged to refrain from provocative rhetoric and unilateral actions.
“The Council reiterates its strong condemnation of the acts of violence by Serbian protesters in Kosovo against citizens, NATO’s [Kosovo Force] KFOR troops, law enforcement agencies, and the media on May 29, 2023, and the violent attacks on the Kosovo Police on September 24, 2023, in northern Kosovo. There is no justification for violence,” states the draft conclusions that have been shared with EU member states.
“The Council reiterates its call for Serbia to fully cooperate and take the necessary steps to urgently bring those responsible for the 2023 attacks to justice. The Council emphasizes the need for full accountability and expresses deep regret that Serbia has taken insufficient steps in this regard,” the document, accessed by Radio Free Europe, states.
In May 2023, in the northern part of Kosovo, which has a Serb-majority population, local Serbs opposed the inauguration of newly elected Albanian mayors, who had been elected in April of the same year, elections that were boycotted by Serb parties and the Serb population.
The protests culminated on May 29 in Zvečan, where demonstrators clashed with KFOR troops, resulting in dozens of people being injured from both sides.
On September 24, 2023, an armed group of Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in Banjska, Zvečan, killing one Kosovo police officer. During the ensuing gunfire exchange, three Serbian attackers were also killed.
Kosovo blames Serbia for this attack, although Serbia denies any involvement. Milan Radoičić, the former deputy leader of the Serb-majority List of Serbs in Kosovo (supported by Belgrade), has taken responsibility for the attack.
Kosovo has raised charges against him and dozens of others and is calling for Serbia to extradite them to Kosovo.
Since December 2021, Serbia has not opened any chapters in its EU accession process. However, a significant number of EU member states have not yet given their approval for opening new chapters with Serbia. Diplomats in Europe have cited the lack of progress in the rule of law, the normalization of relations with Kosovo, and Serbia’s refusal to support EU sanctions against Russia due to the war in Ukraine as the main reasons for withholding approval.
