EU Officials: European Plan for Kosovo Being Examined, Escalation Looms

Negotiations between Aleksandar Vucic and Albin Kurti in Brussels (BetaPhoto/European Council)

A German-French plan for Kosovo is “a harmonized European plan to address relations between Belgrade-Pristina and all of the parties are examining it, even though fears of an escalation persist,” EU officials in Brussels told BETA on Nov. 10.

When asked if “the German-French plan” published by the Brussels-based Euractiv portal was authentic, officials close to the European External Action Service (EEAS) said that “as usual, we cannot comment on media reports.”

“We expect,” they added, “that some breakthrough towards a peaceful, final solution, the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade, could still happen early in December, at the EU-Western Balkans summit.” The Union, its envoy, Miroslav Lajcak, and diplomats haven’t stopped contacts with Pristina and Belgrade, the officials explained.

They were openly critical of the persistence with which Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has been dismissing suggestions from both the EU and Washington for Pristina to carry out its obligations stemming from the Brussels agreement and postpone steps that led to dangerous tensions in Kosovo over the past few months, which aggravated the relationship with Belgrade as well. The EU officials also said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, on the other hand, “keeps trying to present himself and the Serbian side as victims,” and that it was nearly impossible now to continue the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and organize new meetings between the two sides.