EU Commission urged to change course on Serbia and Kosovo – EURACTIV.com

In a letter, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, urged a change of course in mediation between Serbia and Kosovo. Fifty-six politicians from the European Union and other countries have signed the letter, the EU Commission confirmed on Thursday.

The letter was also sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

“The EU’s chief diplomat will respond as he always does when he receives correspondence through the appropriate channels,” said Peter Stano, EU foreign policy spokesman.

The same spokesman pointed out that European policies are decided by “the consensus of the twenty-seven EU countries” and that the EU is a “neutral mediator” in the matter Dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo It is “what helps the two parties to reach the necessary compromises to normalize relations.”

Stano explained that in light of the recent escalation in the region, the European Union “has taken certain measures against the Kosovo government for its inability to act in a European manner and to take steps to calm down.”

At the same time, the institutions of the European Union and the member states, which advise and coordinate the situation among themselves and with international partners, in particular the United States, can take “necessary measures” against Serbia if the EU-27 decides that the country is in the current crisis “not Do something to de-escalate.”

The EU defended its approach as “balanced” and stressed that all measures are “reversible” and dependent on how partners ease tensions and move towards dialogue.

“What the EU expects from both sides is a European way of finding solutions,” Stano said, as both sides want to join the EU.

A group of politicians, including the chairmen of parliamentary foreign affairs committees in the US, Germany and the UK, have written to US and EU leaders asking them to review their approach to defusing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia to reconsider.