Thewesternbalkans
The Kosovo authorities stopped Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and seven bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on May 13 at the Merdare border crossing and did not allow them to enter the territory of Kosovo to attend the official opening of the annual meeting of the Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Patriarchate of Peć.
The Patriarchate of Peć is the historical seat of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the traditional spiritual seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church since the mid-14th century. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The regular session of the Serbian Orthodox Church was supposed to start on May 14 and a day later the working session was to be held in the crypt of the Memorial Church of St. Sava in Vračar. However, the whole session will be held in Vračar.
Head of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo Petar Petkovic said this shows that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s violence against the Serbian people has reached unprecedented proportions.
Meanwhile, through a joint statement, the embassies of the QUINT countries – France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States – and the EU Office in Kosovo expressed concern over the refusal of Porfirije’s visit. The reaction states that the government’s decision is contrary to the provisions of the Ahtisaari Plan, which clearly describes the rights, privileges and immunities for the clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and is not in accordance with Kosovo’s obligations in the EU Dialogue.
QUINT said it expects the government of Kosovo to meet the highest standards of human rights, both in its legal framework and through its actions.
During a press conference in Brussels on May 14 EU spokesperson Peter Stano stated that by banning the entry of Patriarch Porfirije, Pristina violated the Agreement on Official Visits agreed upon in Brussels in 2014. He also emphasized that the topic of the next meeting on May 15 in Brussels will be the dinar, but that the EU does not miss an opportunity to express its position.
Comment: Тhe actions of the Kosovo authorities could be seen as a response to the recent violations of the Brussels Agreements by Serbia. The Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that as long as Serbia continues to not allow the visits of Kosovo state officials to Serbia, and moreover, does not stop campaigns against Kosovo in the international arena, both in the process of integration and in the process of recognition, it continues to use hate speech and threats against Kosovo and its representatives, visits will not be allowed.
In January 2024, Serbia rejected the request for a visit from the Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla. He had planned to visit the municipalities of Preshevo, Medvegja and Bujanoc, which are inhabited by Albanians.
After this denial, at the beginning of May, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo had rejected Petar Petkovic’s request for a visit, not giving reasons for such a decision.
