Kosovo continues to be under the punitive measures of the European Union from the summer of 2023, which the bloc imposed as a response to the escalation of the security situation in the north of Kosovo, when the Albanian presidents came out of the elections that were boycotted by the local Serbs, started the task theirs in the municipalities in the north.
The majority of EU states were in favor of the complete removal of these measures, as recommended by the High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, in the report submitted to the member states on June 18.
And now, when almost a month has passed since the submission of this report, there is still no decision from the European bloc regarding the measures towards Kosovo.
The spokesperson of the EU, Peter Stano, in an answer to the Telegraph, said that the discussions on the removal or not of these measures.
“The report of the High Representative on Kosovo’s fulfillment of EU requirements, expressed in the Declaration of June 3, 2023 (Declaration of the High Representative on behalf of the EU) was sent to the member states and the first discussion took place in June .
The Council had invited the High Representative to prepare such a report in its December 2023 conclusions. The report is a confidential document and will not be made public.
The High Representative recommends the removal of the measures for Kosovo, as he emphasized in the press conference on June 24, 2024. Discussions in the Council continue”, declared Stano.
Among the measures of the EU are the temporary suspension of the work of the bodies of the Stabilization-Association Agreement. Kosovo is also not invited to high-level events and bilateral visits have been suspended, except for those focused on addressing the crisis in northern Kosovo within the EU-facilitated dialogue.
The authorities in Kosovo have insisted several times that they have fulfilled the requirements for the lifting of the measures and that the situation in the north of Kosovo has escalated, the Kosovo Serbs have had the opportunity to vote for the dismissal of the mayors of the municipalities and now, according to them, there is no reason to to keep these measures.
