Clash in Kosovo sparks EU worry

TIRANA, Albania — Germany’s foreign minister on Friday expressed the European Union’s deep concerns after the recent shootout between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and sent tensions soaring in the region.

Annalena Baerbock was in the Albanian capital of Tirana at a foreign ministers’ meeting ahead of the Oct. 16 summit on the Berlin Process, an initiative from Germany and France to encourage six Western Balkans countries to keep working toward membership in the bloc.

The top diplomats of the six countries — Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia — are meeting with Baerbock, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi and other senior EU officials.

“The foundation for mobility in the region is security and safety,” Baerbock said ahead of the meeting, adding that “tensions within the last days between Serbia and Kosovo are also endangering this Berlin Process.”

“The key to resolving the conflict is in Belgrade and Pristina, though some may not be pleased to listen to that,” she said.