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☆ 'Stability is fragile': An overlooked European conflict zone is at a tipping point between peace and combat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The clash broke out in the village when a group of armed Serbs blocked a bridge with two trucks. A shootout erupted after the group opened fire on police, leaving one police officer dead and another injured. Relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which have been fraught since the pair's brutal conflict in the 1990s, remain delicate one year on from a tentative agreement on a new path to normalization. We cannot take peace and stability for granted," Miroslav Lajčák, EU special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and Western Balkans, told CNBC in Davos, Switzerland last month. The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is a series of talks facilitated by the European Union designed to ease hostilities between the neighboring southeastern European countries.

Persons: Milan Radoicic, Vudi Xhymshiti, Miroslav Lajčák Organizations: Kosovo Police, Kosovo Serb, Milan, Anadolu Agency, Getty Images, Belgrade, CNBC, European Union Locations: Banjska, Zvecan, Kosovo, Davos, SWITZERLAND, Russia, Ukraine, EU, Serbia, Pristina, Balkans, Switzerland, Belgrade, Serbs

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Kremlin dismisses threat from anti-war election hopeful; Zelenskyy visits front-line war hot spot
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As part of the Western Balkans block waiting for EU-membership, Serbia is caught in a geostrategic rivalry between its Western allies and Russia. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought fresh political momentum to the European Union and its plans for enlargement in the Western Balkans. "I see the European Union more ready for the Balkans than the Balkans for the European Union," Miroslav Lajčák, EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and Western Balkans, told CNBC last month. Within days of Russia's invasion, Ukraine, neighboring Moldova and, soon after, nearby Georgia applied for EU candidate status — which they were granted in quick succession. "Now, it's very clear that the European Union is serious."

Persons: Russia's, —, Miroslav Lajčák, Lajčák, — Karen Gilchrist Organizations: EU, European Union, Belgrade, Pristina, CNBC, European Locations: Ukraine, Belgrade, Serbia, Balkans, Russia, Western Balkans, European, Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Europe, Yugoslavia, Moldova, Georgia, European Union

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine has had an unlikely consequence — it has revived the EU's plans to get even bigger
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People hold a banner and Ukrainian flags during a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. As part of the Western Balkans block waiting for EU-membership, Serbia is caught in a geostrategic rivalry between its Western allies and Russia. Davos, SWITZERLAND — As spiking geopolitical tensions thrust the European Union into the spotlight, attention has turned to the strategically important Western Balkans. The Western Balkans, comprised of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia, represent a notable gap in the map of EU membership in southeastern Europe. "I see the European Union more ready for the Balkans than the Balkans for the European Union," Miroslav Lajčák, EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and Western Balkans, told CNBC last month.

Persons: —, Miroslav Lajčák, Lajčák Organizations: EU, Union, European Union, Belgrade, Pristina, CNBC Locations: Ukraine, Belgrade, Serbia, Balkans, Russia, Davos, SWITZERLAND, Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Europe, Yugoslavia, European, Western Balkans

Most of Kosovo uses the euro, even though the country isn't part of the EU. But parts of Kosovo's north, populated mostly by ethnic Serbs, continue to use the dinar. The Central Bank reported on Wednesday that Serbian bank Komercijalna Banka AD Beograd closed its branches in Kosovo. Serbian forces fought a 1998-99 war with ethnic Albanian separatists in what was then the province of Kosovo. Kosovo eventually declared independence in 2008, but the government in Belgrade doesn't recognize its neighbor as a separate country.

Persons: Kosovo's, Aleksandar Vučić, Alexander, Botsan, ” Vucic, ”, Besnik Bislimi, Albin Kurti, Miroslav Lajčák, Josep Borrell, ___ Llazar Semini Organizations: Union, Serbian, Kosovo’s Central Bank, Western, The Central Bank, NATO, Belgrade doesn't, European Union, Kosovo, Kosovo police, EU Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbian, Kosovo's, Serbs, Serbia, Russia, Russian, Belgrade, Pristina, Metohija, Kosovo Serbs, ” Kosovo, Komercijalna Banka, Beograd, Brussels, EU, United States, Vučić, Balkans, Kosovo’s, Tirana, Albania

☆ EU Envoy Tells Kosovo and Serbia to Return to Dialogue
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA (Reuters) - The European Union Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak urged Serbia and Kosovo to return to dialogue on normalising ties to avoid a repeat of last month's violence in northern Kosovo. Police recaptured the monastery after a shootout in which three attackers and a Kosovo police officer were killed. They have often clashed with Kosovo police and international peacekeepers, but last month's violence was the worst in years. Lajcak urged Pristina to start working on establishing an association of Serb municipalities to allow greater autonomy for Serb majority areas. Lajcak urged Belgrade to investigate the events and punish any perpetrators in its territory.

Persons: Miroslav Lajcak, Lajcak, Albin Kurti, gunbattle, Gabriel Escobar, Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Ros Russell Organizations: Union, Serbs, Police, Kosovo, United States, Serbian, Kosovo police Locations: PRISTINA, Serbia, Kosovo, Belgrade, Pristina, Banjska, Kosovo's, Serbian, NATO, Balkans, France, Germany, Italy

☆ Kosovo's Kurti accuses EU envoy of siding with Serbia during talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"On September 14 there was a clear positioning of the mediator against Kosovo...They have gone a long way in attacking the future of Kosovo," Kurti told a press briefing in Pristina. Kurti and Vucic met last Thursday for more talks in Brussels but they went nowhere, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. It was mean to settle a conflict dating to the 1998-99 uprising by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority against repressive Serbian rule and lead to normalised relations between Belgrade and its former province, which declared independence in 2008. "We will either implement the whole deal entirely or we will not implement only what Serbia wants. Kurti has said such an association as approved by previous governments would divide Kosovo along ethnic lines.

Persons: Albin Kurti, Ognen, Kurti, Miroslav Lajcak, Aleksandar Vucic, Vucic, Josep Borrell, Fatos, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Kosovo's, REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Serbian, Kosovo, EU, NATO, Albanian, Thomson Locations: Ohrid, North Macedonia, Rights PRISTINA, Kosovo, European, Serbia, Brussels, Pristina, Kurti, Kosovo's, Belgrade

☆ EU wants concrete steps by Kosovo to ease tensions before lifting sanctions –envoy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA, July 4 (Reuters) - The European Union will not lift political and economic sanctions on Kosovo unless the government de-escalates tensions with ethnic Serbs, EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak said on Tuesday during a visit in Pristina. EU countries imposed punitive measures on ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo after Prime Minister Albin Kurti's government failed to heed EU and U.S. requests to defuse strife in the country's north following the worst clashes in over a decade. "My wish is not to have sanctions," Lajcak told reporters in Pristina after a three-hour meeting with Kurti. Some 30 NATO peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serb protesters, and 52 Serbs were hurt. Lajcak said the EU also wanted Serbia, which north Kosovo Serbs still devote their allegiance 15 years after Pristina declared independence from Belgrade, to act constructively to defuse the crisis, or face penalties as well.

Persons: Miroslav Lajcak, Albin Kurti's, Lajcak, Kurti, ”, Kosovo's, Fatos, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: European, EU, Kosovo, ”, NATO, Wednesday, European Union, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbs, Pristina, Brussels, Serbia, Kosovo Serbs, Belgrade, United States

The warnings came as U.S. and EU envoys concluded visits to Kosovo and Serbia to calm tensions that flared into violence last week, wounding dozens of NATO peace-keeping soldiers and Serb protesters in northern Kosovo. He and the EU's Miroslav Lajcak did not elaborate on what other consequences Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's ethnic Albanian-dominated government might face if it did not accede to their demands. "I don't think that these things are resolved with pressure and by mentioning consequences and even sanctions," Kurti told reporters on Wednesday. "We have challenges with EU and U.S. envoys but our bilateral relations with the EU and U.S. are excellent." Lajcak said on Monday that the envoys presented proposals to Kurti to de-escalate the situation in northern Kosovo, adding they had a "long, honest, difficult discussion".

Persons: Balkans Gabriel Escobar, Escobar, Miroslav Lajcak, Albin Kurti's, Kurti, Lajcak, Vjosa Osmani, Peter Stano, Lajacak, Josep Borrell, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Kosovo’s, Kosovo PM, European Union, Kosovo, NATO, U.S, EU, United, Reuters, Washington, Europe, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, BRUSSELS, United States, Kosovo, Serbia, Balkans, Belgrade, U.S, EU

☆ EU hopeful that Kosovo and Serbia will reach deal this month
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRISTINA, March 9 (Reuters) - The European Union expects former wartime foes Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final deal next week on normalising relations after both endorsed a peace plan, the bloc's envoy said on Thursday. The nations' leaders are due to meet on March 18 in North Macedonia to discuss implementation of an 11-point EU plan after agreeing last month that its contents needed no further talks. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after a guerrilla uprising brought an end to repressive Serbian rule. The EU plan does not commit Serbia to acknowledging an independent Kosovo but it would recognise documents such as passports, diplomas and licence plates. He was to travel next to Serbia for talks with President Aleksandar Vucic.

☆ Kosovo says 'yes' to EU's peace deal with Serbia, with caveats - PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People are pictured through Kosovo flag as they take part in celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Kosovo's independence in Pristina, Kosovo February 17, 2018. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after a guerrilla uprising against Belgrade's rule. Kosovo in 2013 pledged to give more autonomy to local Serbs, who refuse to recognise its 2008 independence, through such an association as part of a peace deal. However, Kosovo's highest court said some parts of the deal violated the constitution and should be changed before it takes effect. The proposed 11-point deal would not require Serbia to recognise the independence of its former province, but Belgrade would have to stop lobbying against Kosovo's membership in international bodies.

☆ Bogdan Aurescu participă luni la reuniunea miniştrilor de Externe din statele membre UE
▼ + stars: | 2020-10-12 | by ( ) tvrmoldova.md time to read: +5 min

12.10.2020 07:45 Sursa foto:digi24.ro Vizualizari:Bogdan Aurescu participă luni la reuniunea miniştrilor de Externe din statele membre UEMinistrul Afacerilor Externe, Bogdan Aurescu, va participa luni, la Luxemburg, la reuniunea miniştrilor de Externe din statele membre ale UE. Potrivit MAE, înaintea reuniunii, miniştrii de Externe şi Înaltul Reprezentant pentru Afaceri Externe şi Politica de Securitate vor participa la un mic dejun informal cu ministrul Afacerilor Externe al Arabiei Saudite, Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud. Pe agenda de discuţii a reuniunii figurează situaţia din Belarus, evoluţiile din cadrul Dialogului Belgrad - Priştina, relaţiile UE cu Rusia şi relaţiile UE cu America Latină şi Caraibi. Discuţiile referitoare la relaţiile UE cu Federaţia Rusă vizează o analiză aprofundată, inclusiv din perspectiva cazului Navalnîi. Discuţia privind America Latină şi Caraibi va urmări definirea sprijinului UE pentru regiune, inclusiv pentru a contracara efectele pandemiei de COVID-19.

Persons: Bogdan, Bogdan Aurescu, MAE, Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, ., Susţinerea, Miroslav Lajcak Organizations: Securitate, Arabiei Saudite, saudit, MAE, UE Locations: UE, Luxemburg, Arabiei, Arabia Saudită, Orientul Mijlociu, Statul Israel, Palestina, Nagorno - Karabah, situaţia, Mozambic, Ucraina, Venezuela, Belarus, Belgrad, Priştina, Rusia, America Latină, României, Minsk, OSCE, România, Polonia, Lituania, Balcanii de Vest, Rusă

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