Kosovo

EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak is meeting in Brussels with representatives from Kosovo and Serbia in an attempt to organize a new round of high-level talks as part of international mediation on implementing past commitments aimed at normalizing relations between the Balkan neighbors. 

A year after an attack by a Serbian armed group in northern Kosovo’s Banjska killed a police officer, the trial is expected to begin on Wednesday at the Pristina Basic Court. In all, 45 suspects have been indicted for the attack in September 2023, which Kosovo Serb businessman and politician Milan Radoicic later said he led and organised after he was identified in drone footage by Kosovo security officials. 

The European Union’s office in Pristina on Tuesday welcomed the Kosovo government’s decision to scrap a ban on imports of Serbian finished goods at the Merdare border crossing – a key demand of the EU. 

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti has dismissed as "unconscionable" demands made last week by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for the return of local Serbs to Kosovar institutions. Kurti, responding to Vucic's demands for the first time, also said on September 17 that they were part of an "aggressive campaign for new conflicts."

Kosovo has closed two of its four border crossings with Serbia, the government said, after protesters on the Serbian side blocked roads and turned away passengers carrying Kosovo documents.

Dozens of Kosovo Serbs protested on Monday in North Mitrovica after Kosovo authorities closed five Serbia-run 'parallel institutions' in the Serb-majority north, part of continuing efforts to extend government authority.

Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani said on August 15 the country must ensure that the main bridge in Mitrovica, which divides the northern city into an Albanian-majority southern side and a Serb-majority northern side, is opened in a way that does not provoke conflict with Kosovo's international partners.

The U.S. ambassador to Pristina has expressed concerns about the partnership between the United States and Kosovo, especially regarding the government's handling of issues related to the country's Serb minority.

Fears of ethnically charged strife have flared up in the Balkans this week as Kosovo dramatically intensified its pressure on tens of thousands of local Serbs to abandon aspects of daily life tied to Serbia, shutting post offices used by Serbs and preparing a controversial reopening of a bridge separating ethnic Serb and Albanian communities. 

Hundreds of Serbs protested on Wednesday against the Kosovo government’s move to open the main bridge in Mitrovica, which divides the Serb-dominated north and Albanian south of the city. The planned reopening of the bridge for vehicle traffic has sparked a new row between the government and its Western allies, who want the issue resolved as part of the EU-mediated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue in Brussels rather than in a unilateral move by Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government.