European Leaders Urged Serbia to de Facto Recognize Kosovo

Leaders from France, Germany, and Italy have called on Serbia to acknowledge Kosovo's de facto independence. Kosovo declared its independence in 2008, but Belgrade still regards it as its territory.

As Reuters reported, the day after negotiations with both parties, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy stated that it was time for their Balkan neighbours to fulfil their prior commitments.

Their statement comes against a backdrop of international concerns that former foes from the wartime era might return to open conflict following a series of violent incidents in recent months.

Much of the tension is concentrated in the north of Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs make up the majority, while ethnic Albanians dominate the rest of the region.

In their joint statement, Macron, Scholz, and Meloni reiterated past calls for the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to establish an association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in the north, granting local Serbs a degree of self-governance.

Serbia and Kosovo have engaged in years of negotiations mediated by the European Union to normalize their relations. However, as progress has stalled, the leaders of the three largest EU countries have become increasingly involved in trying to steer the relationship back on course.

While the EU had previously shied away from the politically delicate issue of recognizing Kosovo's de facto status, the trio of leaders made it clear that this is what they expect from Serbia, putting pressure on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

"We call on Kosovo to initiate the process of creating an Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo, as envisaged by the Statute, and for Serbia to recognize Kosovo as a de facto republic," their statement reads.

Vucic has previously stated that he would neither formally nor informally recognize Kosovo.

As reported by The Gaze, Kosovo's Foreign Minister Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz described the armed attack in late September 2023 as an "open act of aggression by Serbia." According to her, law enforcement agencies discovered several illegal arms depots in the northern part of Kosovo, near the border with Serbia. Consequently, Kosovo is demanding sanctions against Serbia and emphasizes the need for "clear actions from the EU and the West."

It was later revealed that the United Kingdom had announced the deployment of troops to Kosovo as part of a peacekeeping mission by the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) at the request of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Christopher Cavoli.