High Representative Borrell to deliver report on removal of measures against Kosovo

The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell, is expected to deliver next week a report on the steps that Kosovo has taken in fulfilling the obligations necessary for the removal of the Union’s temporary political and economic measures against the country.

Why is this relevant

In December 2023, in a letter to Borrell, twelve countries, including Germany, Italy and the UK, called on the EU to end its measures against Kosovo. The signatory countries pointed out that the quantity and type of weaponry seized after the attack in Banjska raised serious questions over what role the Serbian state may have had in supporting the operation.

A year ago, the EU imposed restrictive measures on Kosovo in response to the actions of the Kosovo Government in the majority Serb north of the country. When ethnic Serb political parties in four northern Serb majority municipalities decided to boycott the local elections, the Kosovo Government decided to go on with the elections regardless. It then proceeded to install Albanian mayors in the four municipalities despite violent protests by ethnic Serbs that resulted in attacks against peacekeeping forces, the police and media.

The EU measures against Kosovo include the temporary suspension of the institutions of the Stabilization and Association Agreement; not extending invitations to Kosovo to high-level events and suspending all bilateral visits except for those that focus on addressing the crisis in northern Kosovo within the EU-facilitated dialogue. A host of economic measures were also adopted including the suspension of the programming of IPA 2024 funds (Pre-Accession Instrument). Applications by Kosovo to the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) have also not been considered by the WBIF board.

However, following an armed attack against Kosovo Police in September 2023 in Banjska, by ethnic Serb gunmen, and a number of de-escalation measures undertaken by the Kosovo Government, including granting ethnic Serbs the possibility to vote for the dismissal of the newly installed Albanian mayors, the mood in the EU seems to have shifted somewhat. During a debate on the measures against Kosovo held in the EU’s Political and Security Committee, a majority of the member states’ ambassadors proposed that the measures be removed altogether, while some member states were in favor of a gradual removal.