The European Commission has reacted to a video published by its chief Ursula von der Leyen, which has caused numerous reactions due to the inclusion of Kosovo as part of Serbia.
The video, which was intended to welcome Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area, shows a map of Europe with member states marked in blue, while non-member states, including the six Western Balkan countries, were marked in white.
What has drawn attention is that the map lacks the border line between Kosovo and Serbia, implying that Kosovo is part of Serbia.
This mistake was noticed by many users of the social network X, including German politician Doris Pack, who asked von der Leyen "Where is the state of Kosovo?".
After widespread backlash, the video was immediately removed from the European Commission's platforms. An EU official stressed that the footage was removed as soon as the issue became known, considering this step as a sufficient response to the situation.
However, a concrete response on the European Commission's position on Kosovo's status as an independent state was not given, but it said that "the fact that the footage was removed is quite self-explanatory."