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Germany, "urgent" call on Kosovo to refrain from "targeting" Serbian health institutions

2025-09-15 19:38:00Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Germany, "urgent" call on Kosovo to refrain from "targeting"

Germany made an "urgent" call on Kosovo on Monday to refrain from "targeting" Serbian-run health institutions on Kosovo territory.

Michael Reiffenstuel, director for the Western Balkans, Turkey, the Council of Europe and the OSCE at the German Foreign Ministry, described in a statement as worrying the actions of the Kosovo authorities in suspending the work of the offices in Mitrovica of the Health Insurance Fund and the Disability and Pension Insurance Fund.

"The disturbing actions of the past week negatively affect Kosovo's own citizens, contradict its obligations and commitments to the EU, and strain our bilateral relations," said Reiffenstuel.

Reiffenstuel's statement was shared on social media by the German Embassy in Pristina and its ambassador, Jorn Rohde, with the caption: "Clear message from Berlin: cooperation and coordination are needed, no more escalating steps."

The municipality of North Mitrovica said on September 12 that, with the assistance of the Kosovo Police, it conducted inspections in the premises where these Serbian institutions operated and found people working who "did not have valid documentation for the exercise of the aforementioned activity."

"For this reason, the work has been temporarily suspended, while the further procedure will be carried out in an orderly manner, in accordance with the laws and competencies in force," said the Municipality of North Mitrovica.

The decision of the Kosovo authorities has also been condemned by the European Union, which called on the acting Government of Kosovo and other relevant Kosovo institutions "to refrain from such provocations and harmful actions and to consult with the local Serb community and international partners."

According to the European bloc, these actions have a negative impact on ordinary citizens, mainly from the Serbian community in Kosovo, but also on other communities.

The Health Insurance Fund in North Mitrovica operates within the framework of the Republican Health Insurance Fund of Serbia and provides services in the field of healthcare - such as verifying health records, work related to medical commissions, calculating, controlling and paying financial compensations, as well as verifying requests for medical-technical assistance and the like.

In Serbian environments in Kosovo, all health and educational institutions operate according to the Serbian system.

The Serbian List, the largest Serb party in Kosovo that has the support of Belgrade, has accused the acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, of continuing with "a one-sided, escalating and openly anti-Serb campaign, the sole purpose of which is to expel Serbs from Kosovo."

In an interview given to Radio Free Europe in September 2024, Kosovo's Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, said that the functioning of health and education in Serb-majority environments is specific and that these institutions will be treated specifically - separately from the closure of other Serb institutions.

In 2024, Kosovo authorities began closing several Serbian institutions in Kosovo, including: the Post of Serbia, the Postal Savings Bank, provisional municipal bodies, social work centers, and others.

Meanwhile, last week they also took control of facilities in Gracanica and Štrpce that were used by the Serbian Post.

The closure of Serbian institutions, which Kosovo considers illegal and parallel, has faced criticism from the EU and the United States, which have said that the Kosovo government is taking unilateral and uncoordinated actions.

The chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy in Pristina, Anu Prattipati, told a Serbian-language media group on September 4 that all parallel Serbian institutions, including education and healthcare, should be integrated into the Kosovo system.

However, she emphasized that the way this integration will be done is essential and, according to her, should only be developed through consultations with the Serbian community. /REL


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