The European Union hopes that Kosovo will heed the message from the bloc and other international partners regarding recent decisions, which have been deemed as unilateral and uncoordinated.
EU spokesperson Peter Stano said that the bloc has made its stance clear regarding the closure of nine branches of the Serbian Post in Kosovo by the authorities, as well as the Kosovo Government’s intention to open the bridge over the Ibër River to traffic.
He mentioned that punitive measures against Kosovo, imposed last June due to rising tensions in the north, are still in effect.
“Instead of steps that would lead to de-escalation, many more unilateral actions and decisions that lead to escalation have been taken. At that time, we said that the measures are progressive, they can be tightened or eased depending on the development of the situation. This part addresses the first part of the question, about what we will do [after the recent decisions of the authorities in Kosovo]. So, we have measures in place, and these measures can be tightened if all EU actors agree,” said Stano.
In connection to this issue, publicist Emin Azemi spoke to “Bota sot.”
Initially, he expressed that due to its diplomatic failure, the EU is attempting to impose a narrative that Kosovo is an “unfinished state.”
He also said it is unfortunate that the citizens of Kosovo have to listen to statements in a dictatorial tone about how they should conform to the demands of the Serbian state.
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“Some EU institutions, especially the EU’s diplomacy, unable to offer creative solutions to overcome the open problems that Kosovo has with Serbia, have chosen the shortest but least reasonable path: to impose a narrative that Kosovo is an unfinished state, a state that has not yet completed the state-building process.
It is regrettable that the citizens of Kosovo, instead of receiving recommendations from the EU on how to ease their lives with reforms and economic and social development, are forced to hear and read daily statements in a dictatorial form on how Kosovo should conform to Serbia’s demands.”
Furthermore, Azemi emphasized that the European Union makes strange and undemocratic calls, which do not help in resolving the problems.
“The citizens of Kosovo make their own choices regarding who will represent their interests, but strange calls come from Brussels that are not only undemocratic but also not aimed at solving the problems.
The Ibër Bridge is not in Serbia, and it connects two parts of a city in Kosovo, so every effort, albeit delayed, to make these two parts communicate normally with each other has its source in legitimate, legal, and why not, democratic decision-making,” he emphasized.
Moreover, the publicist assessed that the Kurti Government is acting correctly and is not violating any agreement or convention.
“The opposition to opening the Ibër Bridge to vehicles, whether from the EU, Belgrade, or certain political and media figures in Prishtina, is nothing more than an additional ‘infusion’ to keep the notorious ‘Serbian world’ project alive.
The Government of Kosovo is doing the right thing and is not violating any convention or agreement. On the contrary, it is implementing the decisions of previous agreements for the opening of the Ibër Bridge, and it is scandalous to hear voices that still believe Kosovo should continue to behave as a vassal state against its sovereignty,” emphasized Azemi.
In conclusion, he said that the opening of the bridge only undermines Serbia’s idea of turning Kosovo into a Bosnia-like entity.
“The opening of the Ibër Bridge does not infringe on any rights of the Serbs. It only undermines Belgrade’s idea of turning Kosovo into a Bosnia-like entity, by keeping it perpetually under the threat of destabilization and disintegration.
All those who oppose the opening of the Ibër Bridge, including certain EU representatives, are in fact supporting the Serbian project of turning Kosovo into a Bosnia-like entity, through enclave projects, which would make the state of Kosovo less functional and more of a source of destabilizing passions.
By supporting Serbia in its efforts to keep Kosovo as divided and fragmented as possible, these advocates of closed bridges are making it easier for Belgrade and Moscow to extend their anti-NATO, anti-EU, and anti-US influences in this part of the region,” concluded Emin Azemi for “Bota sot.”
