The European Union is waiting for the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandër Vucic, to accept the invitation for a meeting in Brussels, without setting any conditions.

In the EU, they emphasize the necessity to find a solution for the de-escalation of the situation in the north, while they say that the lack of commitment to this will have consequences for both parties.

The spokesperson of the European Union, Peter Stano, in a press conference on Monday, said that the date of the Kurti-Vucic crisis meeting has not been set yet, as the parties have not confirmed their participation so far.

Stano: We expect Kurti and Vucic to come to Brussels without conditions

“High Representative Borrell invited Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic to come to Brussels for a crisis meeting to find a way out of the escalation we are seeing and to return to the implementation of the dialogue agreements. The date of the meeting has not yet been set, as the parties have not yet confirmed their participation. The High Representative and also the EU member states expect a more reasonable attitude from partners who aspire to join the European Union. Both are invited and we expect them to come without preconditions. Finding a solution is first and foremost in the interest of the people in Kosovo and Serbia… The invitation of the High Representative is an opportunity offered to both Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic to show that they can ultimately be constructive and strive to find a solution, because this is not to satisfy Brussels, this has to do with the future, this has to do with the European future of the people in Kosovo and Serbia. The lack of commitment will have inevitable consequences for the citizens, both in Kosovo and in Serbia, and this is the responsibility of only the two leaders, President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti, it is not the responsibility of anyone else,” he said.

According to him, the meeting is happening because so far they have not seen any significant steps to de-escalate the situation in the north.

Stano: We haven’t seen any significant steps to scale up yet

“Thankfully there has been no further escalation, physical escalation on the ground in the last few days, but on the other hand, we have not yet seen any significant, immediate steps to de-escalation, or towards de-escalation. This was the reason why the High Representative invited the two leaders to a crisis meeting in Brussels to agree on a concrete solution to the situation and concrete de-escalation. And, as I said, so far we have not been able to set a date because we have had no response, other than hearing some very unconstructive remarks made public. But we expect them to come without preconditions and to be able to find a way out of the crisis because it is up to both of them to discuss and find solutions. We will be happy, as always, to help them, to facilitate, to advise them, but in the end it is their decision to do something to reduce the tension because this is in the interest of their people”, Stano added. 

He said that depending on the actions of Kosovo and Serbia to find a solution in the north, the necessary decisions of the EU will be taken, when he also mentioned the meeting of the Council of Foreign Affairs of the EU which is expected to be held next week .

Stano: The actions of the two parties will be reflected in the EU meetings

“At this stage we are focusing on the invitation of the High Representative to help both sides to find a solution. That is why he invited them to a crisis meeting in Brussels. And as I said, as we have said repeatedly, we expect them to show a reasonable attitude and come to Brussels and make the necessary efforts for de-escalation. Then we go from there, depending on the meeting, if the meeting happens and how it goes. As I said, we now have two important EU programmes, one is the FAC (Foreign Affairs Council), the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday in Luxembourg, which deals with the situation and the other is the upcoming Council conclusions. In all of this, the behavior and actions of both parties will be reflected in these two very important events that are coming for the perspective of the EU and the road to the EU of Serbia and Kosovo. So, depending on how the meeting goes and whether it goes ahead, the EU and the High Representative will then decide on the next steps. But at this stage we are focusing on what is really needed immediately and that is the urgent de-escalation and a political way out of the situation”, he said.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, expressed his undecided response to this invitation. He said on Monday that he will make the decision after seeing the condition of the three policemen kidnapped by the Serbian forces.

/k.s/