The Long Road to Electing New Mayors

Josep Borell, Miroslav Lajcak, Albin Kurti, Brussels, June 22 2023 (BETAPHOTO/European Council/Frederic Sierakowski)

The separate meetings the EU mediation team had last week with the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo in Brussels have not yielded any results, which is why the focus is still on the de-escalation of tensions between Belgrade and Pristina. Even if the situation in northern Kosovo was to calm down, the crisis would still be far from over – it will require the recently elected Albanian mayors to step down and pass the baton back to the Serb officials in the four Serb-dominated municipalities. And the road to such an outcome is not easy.