{"id":382484,"date":"2024-08-06T14:23:40","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T12:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2024\/08\/06\/kosovo-nord-chiusura-poste-serbia-ue\/"},"modified":"2024-08-14T14:00:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T12:00:28","slug":"north-kosovo-post-serbia-branches-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2024\/08\/06\/north-kosovo-post-serbia-branches-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"Kosovo closes 9 Post of Serbia branches in the north. According to the EU it is a “unilateral and uncoordinated step”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – Northern Kosovo is back in the spotlight of the European Union after\u00a0Pristina decided to have Kosovo police\u00a0close\u00a0nine Post of Serbia branches in the north of the country<\/strong> yesterday (Aug. 5), triggering a reaction from Brussels. The EU considers the move “a unilateral and uncoordinated step, which violates agreements reached in the EU-facilitated dialogue<\/strong>,” according to a European External Action Service (EEAS)\u00a0statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Kosovo<\/a>
Kosovska Mitrovica (credits: Armend Nimani \/ Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kosovo police shut down three branches\u00a0in Kosovska Mitrovica, one in Zubin Potok, two in Zve\u010dan, and three in Leposavi\u0107 as<\/strong> authorities claimed they were operating without a license and not\u00a0registering with the relevant Kosovo agencies. The decision came just months after the closure of several postal savings banks in the region that ethnic Serbian minorities used\u00a0to receive salaries from Belgrade and to make payments in dinars<\/strong>,\u00a0banned since Feb. 1<\/a>\u00a0on the domestic market. These are the first consequences of the Regulation on Transparency and Stability of Financial Flows and Combating Money Laundering and Counterfeiting, impacting<\/a> all those public services in northern Kosovo that never adjusted to Pristina’s adoption of the euro in 2002 (even before independence in 2008). Belgrade has never recognized Kosovo’s sovereignty, which is why it still pays salaries, pensions, and family allowances in dinars<\/strong> to a substantial share of Kosovar citizens in the Serb-majority areas of the country.<\/p>\n

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\"Borrell<\/a>
From left: the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

The European Union is struggling to keep political tensions between Pristina and Belgrade under control. However,\u00a0it is not giving up on its mediation efforts. “As part of the Arrangements regarding Telecommunications reached in 2013 and the Action Plan agreed in 2015, both Parties agreed to discuss postal services ‘at a later stage’, thereby acknowledging that the issue can only be addressed within the framework of the Dialogue,” the EEAS noted. That is why, after the last failed trilateral summit<\/a> in late June in Brussels between the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,\u00a0Josep Borrell<\/strong>, Kosovo premier, Albin Kurti<\/strong>, and Serbian president, Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107<\/strong>, EU negotiators were\u00a0“ready to put the issue on the agenda of the next dialogue meeting.” However,\u00a0the call remains for the Kosovo government to “reconsider its decision and find a negotiated solution.”<\/p>\n

Clearly, the main problem at the heart of regional issues in the north of the country is\u00a0the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities<\/strong> in Kosovo<\/strong>, i.e., the community in the country that wants\u00a0autonomy over a whole range of administrative matters, including the operation of the National Bank of Serbia, the Savings Bank and the Post Office of Serbia. “Unilateral and uncoordinated actions cannot offer solutions to this or any other issue <\/strong>that belongs to the normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia,” the EEAS warned, making clear that “closing existing services of Kosovo Serbs, without any new prior agreed arrangement, will further negatively affect the daily lives<\/strong> and living conditions of this community.”<\/p>\n

Tensions in northern Kosovo<\/h3>\n

More than a year has passed since the first event that kicked off\u00a0one of the most complex and violent periods\u00a0of Serbian and Kosovar relations. Violent protests\u00a0broke out after the newly elected mayors took office in Zubin Potok, Zve\u010dan, Leposavi\u0107, and Kosovska Mitrovica <\/strong>on May 26, 2023. Within three days, the clashes turned into guerrilla warfare that also involved soldiers from the NATO-led international KFOR mission. Tensions erupted after the Pristina government sent police special forces to allow the mayors elected on April 23<\/strong> into the municipalities in a controversial election round due to the incredibly low voter turnout.<\/p>\n

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\"Kosovo<\/a>
Clashes between Kosovo Serb protesters and NATO KFOR mission soldiers in Zve\u010dan, May 29, 2023 (credits: Stringer \/ Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, on June 14, Serbian security services arrested\/kidnapped three Kosovar police officers.<\/strong> The governments of Pristina and Belgrade accused each other’s law enforcement agencies of trespassing. Brussels convened an\u00a0emergency meeting with Kosovar Premier Albin Kurti<\/strong> and Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010dic<\/strong> to exit\u00a0“crisis management mode.” The release of the three Kosovar police officers came\u00a0on June 22.\u00a0However,\u00a0due to Pristina’s failure to take a “constructive attitude” to de-escalate tension<\/strong>, Brussels in late June imposed\u00a0“temporary and reversible” measures against Kosovo (still in place, despite the roadmap agreed on July 12). Tension escalated with the terrorist attack on September 24,\u00a0near the Serbian Orthodox monastery in Banjska,<\/strong> when clashes between the Kosovo Police and a group of about 30 gunmen killed a policeman and three attackers.<\/p>\n

Developments in the attack showed clear ties to neighboring Serbia. Among the\u00a0bombers outside the monastery was Milan Radoi\u010di\u0107, deputy head of Lista Srpska<\/strong> – as he confirmed a few days after the armed attack – and\u00a0Milorad Jevti\u0107, a close associate of the Serbian president’s son, Danilo Vu\u010di\u0107<\/strong>. To make matters worse, the United States warned of\u00a0a\u00a0“major Serbian military deployment” along the administrative border. Nothing came out of it, but the EU began to reflect on the possibility\u00a0of imposing on Belgrage the same measures that are in place against Pristina. However, to do this requires unanimity in the Council, and Vu\u010di\u0107’s closest ally inside the Union – the Hungarian premier, Viktor Orb\u00e1n <\/strong>– vetoed. As if that were not enough, before\u00a0early elections in Serbia on December 17, the last act of the government led by Ana Brnabi\u0107<\/strong> was to send a letter to Brussels<\/a> to warn that Serbian institutions do not recognize the legal value of the verbal commitments made in the context of the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue<\/strong> and that it will also not recognize\u00a0the de facto<\/em> sovereignty of Kosovo.\"Kosovo<\/a><\/p>\n

The only positive news for now is the resolution of the ‘battle of the license plates’<\/a> between Serbia and Kosovo, thanks to the decision\u00a0between late 2023 and early 2024 on mutual recognition for vehicles entering the border,\u00a0even given this year’s unpromising assumptions. As\u00a0the Regulation on Transparency and Stability of Financial Flows and Combating Money Laundering and Counterfeiting\u00a0came into force<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Feb. 1, the euro became the sole currency of exchange and deposit in bank accounts.<\/strong>\u00a0It is still possible to exchange the Serbian dinar like the Albanian lek or the dollar. However,\u00a0the decision will impact all those public services that never adjusted to Pristina’s adoption of the euro in 2002 (even before independence). On Feb. 5, special police operations at the offices of the temporary institutions run by Serbia<\/strong> in four municipalities in northern Kosovo (Dragash, Pej\u00eb, Istog, and Klin\u00eb) and at the headquarters of the Center For Peace and Tolerance NGO in Pristina\u00a0raised controversy<\/a> in Brussels.\u00a0Since 2008, Belgrade has continued to fund municipalities, companies, public enterprises, kindergartens, schools, public universities, and hospitals available to the Serb minority illegally, according to the Kosovo Constitution.<\/p>\n

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Find more insights on the Balkan region in the BarBalkans newsletter<\/a> hosted by Eunews<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brussels reacts to the Pristina government’s new move in Kosovska Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Zve\u010dan and Leposavi\u0107, reminding of the need to address the issue within the dialogue with Belgrade: “Without any new prior agreed arrangement, (it) will further negatively affect the daily lives of this community.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5647,"featured_media":382442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25707],"tags":[26157,26067,26159,26068,26009,26222,25836],"class_list":["post-382484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-politics","tag-eu-enlargement-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5647"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382484"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382583,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382484\/revisions\/382583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}