EU warns Kosovo that closure of Serbian organizations goes against normalization efforts

BRUSSELS Jan. 15 () –

The European Union criticized this Wednesday the closure by Kosovo of 28 organizations controlled by the Serbian minority, warning that this step goes against Pristina’s commitments within the framework of the normalization dialogue facilitated by the European bloc, for which has asked that it remain consistent with its commitment to finding a way out of tensions with Belgrade through the European mediation process.

The closure announced in the middle of the campaign for the parliamentary elections on February 9 “goes against” Kosovo’s obligations with the EU within the framework of the process of normalization of relations, the EU External Action Service said in a statement. .

In this sense, the EU warns that the European police mission, EULEX, is “monitoring the development of these recent actions” on the side of Pristina, which claims to put an end to the “parallel institutions.” The measure affects local centers and tax facilities in a dozen Kosovo localities, including the capital, reports the Bloomberg agency. It joins other similar closures that the Government had previously adopted in the northern part of Kosovo over the last year.

“It is planned that the status of the organizations supported by Serbia will be resolved through dialogue facilitated by the EU,” stresses community diplomacy in a statement in which it asks Pristina to “demonstrate coherence” with its obligations.

At the same time, he warns that Kosovo’s unilateral steps do not help the objective of lifting the economic and diplomatic sanctions against Pristina. Last year the EU adopted temporary measures due to the lack of progress to de-escalate tension in the northern municipalities, with a Serbian majority, after the municipal elections in which Albanian candidates won after the boycott by Serbian parties. Specifically, it imposed the suspension of high-level visits and the freezing of financial cooperation with Kosovo.