EU: The issues of education and health in the north of Kosovo should be addressed in the dialogue

2024-11-16 09:20:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

EU: The issues of education and health in the north of Kosovo should be

The European Union said it is carefully following developments in the north of Kosovo related to the operation of services supported by Serbia. The spokesperson of the bloc, Peter Stano, said that these issues should be addressed within the Brussels dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

"We are following the developments and are aware of the reports about the arrest of a Serbian school principal in Kosovo. I can recall that the EU has been very, very clear that the status and transition of some services supported by Serbia, especially the school and educational system, should be addressed in the dialogue facilitated by the EU, in parallel with the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, which is an irreplaceable obligation of the Kosovo authorities", said Stano, calling for restraint from unilateral steps.

The government of Kosovo, led by Albin Kurti, has undertaken several actions in the north, which have been criticized by the international factor. The Kosovo executive has banned the use of the Serbian dinar, has closed several branches of the Serbian post office, as well as parallel institutions, saying that they violated the constitutionality of Kosovo.

In September of this year, the Minister for Communities and Return in the Government of Kosovo, Nenad Rashi?, told Radio Free Europe that the educational and health institutions in the north, which operate according to the Serbian system, are currently not threatened by possible closure, but added that Kosovo Serbs "must be ready for a scenario that we will not like".

"Unilateral steps that reduce access to these services, in health or education, would have a negative effect on people's daily lives and living conditions for Serbs and other communities in Kosovo. This would be a failure of Kosovo in respecting the obligations from the integration process of Kosovo", said Stano.

Responding to questions about Serbia's threats that it may withdraw from the dialogue, Stano said that the dialogue is a condition for both Kosovo and Serbia in the EU integration process. He said that without progress in the dialogue, there will be no progress in the integration process either.

"The dialogue facilitated by the EU is based on the need and willingness of both parties to reach an agreement with the help of the EU. This is something that the parties have requested and that has been supported by the EU and the United Nations. So, we will facilitate the dialogue to the extent that the parties will be in the dialogue and to the extent that they will be interested in the EU membership process. If there is no dialogue, there will be no integration process", said Stano.

Kosovo and Serbia have been holding dialogue in Brussels since 2011. The process, which is supported by the United States, aims to normalize relations between the countries. The parties have reached dozens of agreements, but most of them have not been implemented./ Rel