Please join the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center for a public, virtual discussion on Restarting the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue: A conversation with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar and EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak. This event will take place virtually on Tuesday, June 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET / 15:00 hrs to 15:30 hrs CET.

Recent progress in normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo through the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue is threatened by escalating tensions in the north of Kosovo. On June 14, Serbian forces detained three Kosovo police officers, accusing each other of illegal border crossings. In response, Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti banned vehicles with Serbian license plates from entering the territory. Earlier, the Serb majority population in the north of Kosovo boycotted local municipal elections in April due to a dispute over car license plates, resulting in Kosovo Albanian candidates winning with only 3.5 percent voter turnout. Protests erupted when four mayors, under special police protection, entered the municipal buildings,and causing injuries to NATO peacekeeping troops a few days later.