Brussels, 26/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Union criticised police in Kosovo on Tuesday 26 July for taking control of two crossings on the border with Serbia, and called for calm as a trade dispute simmers between them. “We believe that the operation that was carried out last night by the Kosovo authorities was not helpful”, said a spokesperson for EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. “It was not done in consultation with either the European Union or the international community, and we do not approve it”, the spokesperson said. “What we believe needs to happen now is that the situation calms down, and that we return to where we were before this escalation”, she added. The police move overnight on Monday came as part of Kosovo's order to stop imports from Serbia, which is retaliation for a trade embargo introduced by Belgrade three years ago. Most of Kosovo's food supplies are imported from Serbia. Reuters news agency reported that a Kosovo police officer was shot and wounded during one attempt to take control of a border post in the ethnic Serb part of Kosovo.
The trade dispute has figured among EU-sponsored talks between the two sides, which began in March. Those talks made some headway in early July, notably on who, and what kind of vehicles, could cross the border. But a new round scheduled for last week was postponed by the chief EU mediator when it became clear that no further ground could be made. Ashton's spokesperson encouraged Belgrade and Pristina to resolve their differences at the negotiating table. “We need to find a solution through dialogue, and we believe that we have the right channel to do that”, she said. She recalled that the EU's justice and police mission in Kosovo, EULEX, stood ready to help the Pristina authorities resolve the dispute, and noted that this “might require a reinforced presence if necessary”. Kosovo claims that Belgrade's trade embargo, which was introduced after the ethnic Albanian majority territory unilaterally broke away from Serbia in February 2008, contravenes a regional free trade pact signed by both parties. (LoC)