Brussels – The European Union has to focus again on northern Kosovo amid escalating tensions. On 5 August, the government of Pristina ordered its police forces to shut down nine branches of Serb Post in the northern part of the country. “This unilateral and uncoordinated action violates agreements reached within the EU-facilitated dialogue,” Peter Stano, spokeperson of European External Action Service (EEAS), stated.
The targeted post offices—three in Kosovska Mitrovica, one in Zubin Potok, two in Zvečan, and three in Leposavić—were accused by Kosovan authorities of operating without licences and failing to register with Kosovo’s regulatory agencies. This decision follows the closure of several postal savings banks earlier this year, which ethnic Serbs had used to receive salaries from Belgrade and to make payments in Serbian dinars, banned in Kosovo since 1 February 2024. The measures stem from Kosovo’s Financial Transparency and Stability Regulation, designed to combat money laundering and counterfeiting. The regulation has disrupted public services in northern Kosovo that have not aligned with Pristina’s adoption of the euro in 2002—years before Kosovo declared independence in 2008.
Serbia, which refuses to recognise Kosovo’s sovereignty, continues to pay salaries, pensions, and benefits in Serbian dinars to a significant portion of ethnic Serbs in the region. While struggling to mediate the mounting tensions, the EU remains committed to dialogue. “Under the telecommunications agreements of 2013 and the action plan agreed in 2015, both sides committed to discussing postal services at a later stage,” the EEAS stated, emphasising that such issues “can only be resolved within the framework of the Pristina-Belgrade Dialogue.”
In the wake of the failed trilateral summit in Brussels in late June, involving EU High Representative Josep Borrell, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, EU mediators have pledged to include the postal issue in upcoming discussions. In the meantime, Kosovo’s government has been urged to “reconsider its decision and seek a negotiated solution.”
A difficult negotiation
At the heart of the dispute lies the unresolved establishment of the Association/community of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. This body would grant autonomy over key administrative matters, including the operation of Serbian institutions such as the National Bank, postal system, and savings banks. “Unilateral and uncoordinated actions cannot resolve this or any other issue central to the normalisation process between Kosovo and Serbia,” the EEAS warned, further stressing that closing services for ethnic Serbs in Kosovo without prior agreements risks deepening the hardships faced by these communities.
Relations between the two Balkan countries–engaged since 2011 in a complex, EU-mediated diplomatic process–have reached one of their lowest points, despite the 12-hour talks in Ohrid, on the shores of Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia on 18 March 2023. Back then, a green light was given (though without formal signatures) to the implementation annex of the Brussels Agreement reached on 27 February. This annex outlined the specific commitments for Serbia and Kosovo. Yet, more than a year later, Belgrade and Pristina have made little progress in fulfilling these commitments.
A year of escalating tensions in norther Kosovo
The crisis has been going on for over a year, marked by clashes in May 2023 when newly elected mayors in Zubin Potok, Zvečan, Leposavić, and Kosovska Mitrovica assumed office amid widespread protests. The demonstrations escalated into violent confrontations involving NATO-led KFOR troops after Pristina deployed special police forces to secure municipal offices for the mayors, who had been elected in April 2023 during a low-turnout poll.
Tensions flared again on 14 June, when Serbian security forces detained three Kosovan police officers, with each side accusing the other of border violations. Emergency talks in Brussels secured the officers’ release on 22 June, but the EU imposed “temporary and reversible” measures against Kosovo due to Pristina’s “lack of constructive efforts” to de-escalate tensions. These measures remain in effect despite a roadmap agreed on 12 July.
The situation further deteriorated on 24 September 2023 with a terrorist attack near the Serbian Orthodox Banjska Monastery. A day of clashes between Kosovan police and an armed group left one officer and three attackers dead. One of the attackers was Milan Radoičić, deputy leader of the Serb List party, who later confirmed his involvement. The attack exposed links to Belgrade, with one suspect tied to President Aleksandar Vučić‘s son. Tensions mounted further when the United States denounced a “large military build-up” by Serbia near the administrative border with Kosovo. While the deployment did not escalate into open conflict, the EU has since considered extending sanctions to Serbia, similar to those imposed on Kosovo. However, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán vetoed such measures.
As Serbia headed into early elections on 17 December 2023, the outgoing government of Prime Minister Ana Brnabić has further complicated matters. In a letter to Brussels, she announced of not recognising the legal validity of verbal commitments made within the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue or offering “de facto” recognition of Kosovo’s sovereignty. While tensions persist, the EU remains determined to mediate and maintain a dialogue between the two sides, underscoring its commitment to long-term peace and stability in the Western Balkans.
