15/01/2025 (Agence Europe) – In a short press release published on Wednesday 15 January, the European External Action Service deplores “Kosovo’s recent actions against and closure of Serbia-supported structures, conducted in the midst of the election campaign for the 9 February parliamentary elections”. Earlier in the day, the Kosovar authorities declared that they had closed ten “parallel” Serbian municipalities, including one in the capital, considered to be Serbian institutions operating illegally. These actions “go against [the country’s] obligations towards the European Union under the normalisation process” for relations between Belgrade and Pristina (see EUROPE 13480/13), according to the EU, which points out that the lifting of restrictive measures against Kosovo is conditional on Pristina taking concrete action to “de-escalate the tensions in the north”. (IS)