Scholz described the Serbian attacks on police officers in Kosovo as “irresponsible”. At the same time, the governments in Belgrade and Pristina must “endeavour to ensure de-escalation and to ensure that the process that has been agreed and all the agreements that have already been reached are now implemented,” said Scholz Journalists in Tirana.
At the end of September, the worst escalation in years occurred in northern Kosovo. A police officer was killed in an attack by a Serbian commando on a Kosovo Albanian police patrol. Later, about 30 armed men barricaded themselves in an Orthodox monastery in the village of Banjska. Three armed Serbs were killed in exchanges of fire with police. Serbia then massively increased its military presence on the border with Kosovo, which caused international concern.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade still considers it a breakaway territory.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Belgrade and Pristina on Sunday to resume dialogue to normalize relations. “This is the path to a future in which Kosovo and Serbia will be part of the European Union,” she said in Tirana.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic does not attend the meeting in Tirana. He arrived in Beijing on Monday, where he will take part in the international forum on the so-called New Silk Road and sign a free trade agreement with China. Serbia will be represented by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.
According to the federal government, the meeting in Tirana will also focus on the further integration of the Western Balkan region into the EU internal market and the ecological and digital change in the region. A press conference with Scholz, von der Leyen and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is planned for around 5:45 p.m.
The Berlin Process was launched by Germany in 2014. It is intended to advance the rapprochement of the Western Balkan states with the EU. The group includes Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
