Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday unveiled measures Serbia will implement in response to recent events and tensions in northern Kosovo. These include demands for fair and free elections, the return of Serbian judges and prosecutors to legal positions, the return of Serbs to the police in northern Kosovo, and the immediate formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM).

“Serbia today finds itself in a not so easy legal and political situation regarding Kosovo and Metohija. While we’re progressing rapidly economically, perhaps even excellently, Kosovo and Metohija undoubtedly remains our most painful and difficult issue,” Vucic said during a public address on the proposed measures. (Kosovo and Metohija is the official name for what the Serbian authorities consider to be the country’s southern province)

Vucic said measures will be taken in five key areas.

“Firstly, a return to the ‘status quo ante.’ This current situation is untenable, and we demand a return to everything that has been achieved and agreed upon in the dialogue process. We are demonstrating that we are the most responsible party in this entire process, and we believe that, in order for any serious progress to be achieved in the dialogue the following is needed: the calling of free elections, implementation of Article 9 of the Brussels Agreement, and the return of Serbs to the Kosovo Police Regional Directorate in the North,” Vucic emphasized.

A document distributed to reporters explains in more detail that the demand for a return to the ‘status quo ante’ includes “removing the key consequences of the unilateral and uncoordinated actions of (Kosovo Prime Minister Albin) Kurti’s regime, which is a necessary prerequisite for meaningful progress in the dialogue process.”

He also demanded the return of Serb prosecutors and judges to legal positions and the withdrawal of Kosovo Police special forces from northern Kosovo.

“And the urgent, immediate formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM),” Vucic added.

Other areas where detailed measures were proposed include:

– Kosovo and Metohija as an area of special social protection

– Resilience of Serbian institutions in Kosovo and Metohija

– Establishment of a special prosecutor’s office and

Declaring all bodies and institutions formed in Kosovo after its unilateral declaration of independence as illegal.

Explaining the measures, Vucic announced that “a law will be passed within the next 45 days declaring the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija an area of special social protection,” which will provide financial support to unemployed Kosovo Serbs.

“As this entire terror is aimed at making life difficult for ordinary people, we plan to dramatically and drastically increase support for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, immediately allocating 20,000 dinars per month (1 euro – 117 dinars) for about 5,000 unemployed persons,” he said, adding that he is talking about tens of millions of euros, and that free textbooks will also be provided for school children.

Vucic had announced this public address on Tuesday, stating he would “address the public within 72 hours” and “clearly present the demands and measures in response to the attacks on Serbs in northern Kosovo.”

Following meetings with US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill and European Union (EU) Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak on Tuesday, he said the proposed measures and demands would be “serious,” and that he would also present them in the Serbian Parliament in October.

“I am ready for dialogue, I am ready to go talk to Kurti, to have a dialogue in Brussels. However, will not allow the persecution and pogrom of the Serb population, and it is very clear that this is the one goal of Kurti’s government,” said Vucic.

Pristina’s chief negotiator Besnik Bislimi announced in a post on social media platform X that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina at the technical level will be held on Tuesday, September 17, in Brussels.