The former Dutch ambassador to Kosovo, Robert Bosch, stated that the European Union’s measures against Kosovo should be lifted immediately.
He emphasized that these measures should never have been imposed in the first place.
“The European measures against Kosovo should be lifted immediately because they should not have been imposed at the beginning. There is no reason for them. The claimed reason is the non-implementation of the Association of Serbian-majority municipalities, but Serbia hasn’t implemented anything either.
Why should you be punished for this? And they want you to take the first step. And of course, Serbia will give nothing in return. Therefore, Serbia should take some first steps, then perhaps you can follow,” he pointed out in an interview for KP.
The removal of these measures has also been continuously requested by Kosovo’s leaders.
Kosovo President, Vjosa Osmani, said on Thursday that it is time for “unfair measures to be lifted” and called on the European Union for a “clear response to Serbia’s destabilizing approach in the region.”
Meanwhile, the former Dutch ambassador also spoke about the security situation in the region, saying that the KFOR troops are “extremely important.”
“[KFOR troops] are extremely important. In Bosnia, there is only EUFOR, which doesn’t have the same mandate as KFOR, unfortunately, because if EUFOR had the same mandate as KFOR, they would be able to do much more against Dodik. Therefore, Kosovo should be very satisfied with the presence of KFOR,” said the former Dutch ambassador.
While mentioning the situation in Serbia where President Aleksandar Vučić is facing mass protests, Bosch said that he might try to create problems elsewhere in order to distract attention from events in Belgrade.
“That’s why vigilance is very important, but it seems that KFOR is quite vigilant as well,” said the former diplomat in an interview from The Hague.
