Kosovo agrees to reduce police presence in north, elections after summer

In a statement the Kosovo Government said the meeting centered on strengthening the focus on the full and unconditional implementation of the Basic Agreement of February 27 and the Ohrid Annex of March 18.

The reduction of police presence in and around municipal buildings is the first step the Kosovo Government agreed to take.

The Government of Kosovo publicly expresses its readiness to contribute to the de-escalation of the situation and by not taking actions that could escalate the situation in the north of the country. This includes an immediate 25 percent reduction in police presence in and around municipal buildings, said the statement.

It was agreed that “the Kosovo Police, together with EULEX and KFOR, will assess the security situation as necessary, in particular to consider the possibility of further reducing the police presence in and around municipal buildings.”
An agreement was also reached for the elections in four municipalities in northern Kosovo to be held after the summer season.

“Kosovo expresses its commitment to provide the necessary legal basis to enable the organization of these elections,” said the Government.

Step four of the agreement reads that the EU will invite the two main negotiators to Brussels in order to finalize the sequence plan of the Agreement on Normalization, after which the implementation of all articles of the agreement will begin, said the Kosovo Government.

The mentioned actions are to be completed within two weeks, said the statement.