EU Foreign Ministers to Discuss Western Balkans and Northern Kosovo on Oct. 16

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (Beta/Milos Miskov)

During the Oct. 18 session of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, the Union’s exterior ministers will discuss relations with the Western Balkans in light of the recent meetings between EU High Representative Josep Borrell and region’s leaders at the U.N. and – according to the session’s provisional agenda – “will also assess the situation in northern Kosovo.”

Foreign Affairs Council sources in Brussels claim that Borrell is to provide the Council with a summary of the situation in the Western Balkans and the messages he has received from the region’s leaders, including a review of the recent EU-Western Balkans Summit held in Slovenia.

EU diplomatic circles are said to have been seriously concerned over the Kosovo police’s latest operation and ensuing conflict with northern Kosovo Serb civilians – so much so that Borrell, the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, has stated that “the violent incidents in northern Kosovo must cease immediately. . . because they are unacceptable, unilateral and uncoordinated moves that threaten stability.”

In New York, Borrell received U.S. endorsement from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken regarding the EU’s stance that all Kosovo-related disputes must be resolved through a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as regarding the Union’s enlargement to the Western Balkans.

Following the recent summit in Brdo, near Kranj in Slovenia, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the upcoming Oct. 21-22 session of the European Council in Brussels might “touch on” the relations between the EU and Western Balkans. Macron announced that the EU would soon hold “an essential debate on the Union’s geopolitics and enlargement” given that the member states are clearly divided in their opinions regarding on whether or not the Western Balkans should be admitted to the Union and, if so, how this process should unfold.