US and EU could leave Kosovo- Serbia for better times, this is GNK) scenario

The GNK says the US and the EU have the right to ask Kurti Government to withdraw its police from municipal buildings and that newly elected mayors act only as stewards working from alternative countries, for example, offices in Albanian majority villages. This organisation says NATO also has the right to impose its operational reserve.

“If this can be achieved and the situation calms down, Kosovo must organise new elections in these four municipalities, as Kurti has said it is willing to do, to place local representative authorities”.

But GNK also shows a version of how the situation can turn out.

“However, Serbs will probably boycott elections without further concessions from Pristina, which must be negotiated. This calls for the revival of EU-led dialogue. The main requirement, needed to ensure the participation of Serbs in the elections and to revive the talks, is a reliable gesture from the Kurti government when it comes to Serbian autonomy, such as a commitment that Kosovo is willing to change its legislation and constitution, if necessary to create a self-government community or association of Serb majority municipalities. Having this, northern Serbs can do their part by returning to Kosovo institutions that left them in November 2022 and Belgrade, implementing its promises of normalising relations with Pristina, even if it continues to have no recognition of”.

The International Crisis Group says that if Prime Minister Kurti continues to resist international demands, then the situation could escalate and that the US and EU should reconsider their positions.

But Kurti, a strong leader who feels there are people behind him, may not be willing to take those steps, regardless of the consequences for his country's relations with its long-term supporters. Although his popularity affords him the opportunity to take risks that others cannot, so far he does not show a tendency to do so. If he continues to resist these measures and should show the coming months then Serbia and Kosovo can be found in a dangerous escalation dynamic. This, on the other hand, would require the US and the EU to reconsider their priorities for two neighbours by focusing on crisis management, seeking a sustainable solution to the Kosovo-Serbia dispute, and to postpone it to better times. The immediate tasks then would be the protection of minorities -- Kosovo Serbs and Albanian villagers in Serb majority areas -- and the push of Kosovo and Serbia towards other projects, such as internal reforms”.