“Kosovo is entering unknown territory” – Ambassadors warn after Parliament’s failure

“Kosovo is entering uncharted territory” – Ambassadors warn after Parliament’s failure

The highest diplomatic representatives in Kosovo have reacted sharply to the latest failure to constitute the Kosovo Assembly, urging the political spectrum to find a solution before the deadline set by the Constitutional Court expires.

The United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves, described the situation as extremely dangerous, warning that if an agreement is not reached by Saturday, Kosovo will face institutional “uncharted territory.”

“I call on Kosovo’s politicians to unite and find a solution to end the deadlock before the Constitutional Court’s term ends tomorrow. Otherwise, Kosovo is entering uncharted territory and its citizens continue to lose meaningful political representation and the ability to make important domestic and international decisions,” Hargreaves declared after the unsuccessful session in the Assembly.

In the same vein, German Ambassador Jorn Rohde harshly criticized political leaders for their lack of responsibility and failure to respect the mandate given to them by the people. He compared the situation to a severe penalty in football.

“The political class is disappointing its own people and it is very worrying. Yesterday’s decision by the Court was, if we speak in football terms, like a red card, because it is suspending Parliament from making decisions,” said Rohde.

Meanwhile, the Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Aivo Orav, expressed his disappointment at the lack of institutional progress, emphasizing the urgent need for the functioning of the Assembly and the creation of a new government.

“We came here with great hope and unfortunately nothing happened again. Kosovo needs an Assembly immediately, it needs a new government that would build a new and strong bridge between Kosovo and Brussels to accelerate its journey towards the EU,” said Orav.

Thursday’s constitutive session was attended by diplomatic representatives from the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, North Macedonia and the European Union, but their presence was not enough to unblock the process.