EU Commission Chairwoman Ursula
von der Leyen, visiting Pristina today, renewed her call for
Kosovo and Serbia to normalize their relations in order to make
progress on the road to European integration. Speaking at a
press conference at the end of talks with Kosovar President
Vjosa Osmani, von der Leyen said Kosovo should accept the
creation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority
Municipalities, and Serbia should de facto recognize Kosovo. "My
message is that Kosovo has made progress in strengthening
democracy. I remember last year when we urged visa
liberalization, and we succeeded in making it so that as of Jan.
1 next year we can move freely," said von der Leyen, who at the
same time strongly condemned the Sept. 24 armed attack in
Banjska by a Serb commando on Kosovo police with a death toll of
one officer and three assailants killed. "We have gone through
so many crises, like the energy crisis, and we have allocated 70
million euros in this sector.
We need to align the economies, and the Kosovo economy still
has a lot of work to do," she added. "But we all know," he
noted, "that all this is done if Kosovo and Serbia both get
involved. Kosovo has to agree to create the Association (of
Serbian Municipalities) that is still pending, and Serbia has to
recognize Kosovo de facto," von der Leyen said. "This is the
only way forward, not only to move closer to the growth plan but
also for Kosovo's European future." For the chairwoman of the
commission, "de-escalation of tensions requires a commitment to
this on both sides.In Serbia, too, I will discuss steps for the
de facro recognition of Kosovo."In his view, restrictive
measures imposed on Pristina in recent months should be lifted
since Kosovo has shown commitment to de-escalate the situation.
Von der Leyen was also in North Macedonia: "I am here to tell
the people that you are on track to join the EU.I look forward
to welcoming you. As you know, our motto is 'united in
diversity,' and Skopje is already an example of that having been
awarded the prestigious title of the European Capital of Culture
2028." Accompanying her was Head of Government Dimitar
Kovachevski.
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