The EU expects progress in the integration of Serbs after the elections in Kosovo

2024-12-21 18:39:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The EU expects progress in the integration of Serbs after the elections in

The parliamentary elections in Kosovo, which will take place on February 9, 2025, are seen by the diplomats of the European Union who deal with the region, as an opportunity to normalize the situation in the north and to return the trust of the Serbs from that part of Kosovo to the Kosovar authorities. .

According to the sources of Radio Free Europe (REL), the EU has always been concerned about the problems in this part of Kosovo, from those of security to the fact that among the Serbs in the north, even in the past, there were no conditions for right to vote completely freely and to have the opportunity for pluralistic elections, as in other parts of Kosovo.

In the past election cycles, in the EU's internal reports, it has often been mentioned that in the north there was intimidation and pressure on candidates who did not enjoy the support of Belgrade and the Serbian List. Also, there was not even an open and equal campaign, while the media in the Serbian language were also under pressure.

For the EU, the situation with the representation of the Serbs after the organized resignation from the institutions of Kosovo in November 2022 and the boycott of the local elections in April 2023 has been particularly worrying.

Interlocutors of the REL have said that Serbia - despite the claims that the boycott was the choice of the Serbs of the north of Kosovo - had the main role in the resignation of the Serbs from the institutions of Kosovo at that time. And this boycott continues today.

Since 2022, the European Union has consistently stated in the reports it compiles for Kosovo and Serbia that the withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from the institutions "represents a violation by Serbia of its obligations from the dialogue and represents a serious step back in respect of the April Agreement." of 2013".

Before the boycott of the Kosovo Serbs in the northern part of the country, the EU mentioned precisely their participation in the institutions of Kosovo as one of the biggest successes in the dialogue process in general.

"Although we have clearly and continuously expressed our displeasure with the unilateral steps taken by the Kosovo authorities, we have also not hesitated to reprimand Serbia for the great blow given to the normalization of the situation and the dialogue process as a whole with the withdrawal of Serbs from the institutions in the north", an EU diplomat told REL.

Diplomats in the EU hope that the beginning of the coming year will bring a more positive atmosphere in the north of Kosovo and a more constructive behavior, both of Kosovo and Serbia, in the dialogue process. Diplomats connect this with the lack of progress of Serbia, but also of Kosovo, in the EU integration process.

In December, a group of chapters in the negotiation process for integration was not opened to Serbia, even though the European Commission concluded that it had met the technical conditions.

Among the obstacles why the member countries have not allowed the advancement of Serbia, the lack of proper progress in the normalization of relations with Kosovo has been mentioned.

The leaders of the EU do not hide that the consideration of Kosovo's application for membership in the EU is related to the progress in the dialogue process.

Sources in the EU say that they are encouraged by the reconciliation of Kosovo and Serbia in the last meeting in the framework of the dialogue for the implementation of the Declaration on missing persons. They expressed the belief that this could be a new moment that could be followed by further progress in the dialogue.

On the other hand, Serbia's call for Kosovo Serbs to participate in the elections in Kosovo has been seen as a good sign that Belgrade has understood that it should be more constructive.

Serbia's call, which is believed to have a great impact on the Serbs of Kosovo, has also been welcomed through the conclusions of the EU General Affairs Council meeting. But, at the same time, expectations are that the reintegration of Serbs in Kosovo will be done without any preconditions.

"The Council takes into account the call from Serbia in September 2024 for the Kosovo Serbs to participate in the elections organized by the official Pristina and for their reintegration into all the institutions of Kosovo, from which they left in 2022. The Council reiterates its expectation for their rapid reintegration without any preconditions from Serbia, in accordance with the agreements from the dialogue and fully respecting the legal framework of Kosovo", said the ministers of the member countries in the conclusions adopted on December 17 in Brussels.

The EU expects that the Serbs will not only participate in the elections, but that those who receive the mandate will also exercise it responsibly, either by actively participating in the work of the Assembly of Kosovo, as well as at other levels of government and life. public in Kosovo.

It is expected that the EU mission, which will observe the elections in Kosovo, will follow with particular care the electoral process in the north of the country and the exercise of the right to vote by all ethnic groups, including even those belonging to non-majority ethnic communities./REL