Kosovo-Serbia tension threatens the Balkan path to EU integration, the German foreign minister warns

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Germany’s foreign minister on Friday expressed the European Union’s deep concerns following the recent shootout between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and sent tensions soaring in the region. Baerbock is in the Albanian capital Tirana, along with other senior EU officials, to meet foreign ministers from the six Western Balkan countries which have not yet joined the bloc. The EU has not deemed the remaining Western Balkan countries’ economies and political institutions ready for integration into the bloc. The war in Ukraine has put integration of the Western Balkans high on the EU agenda.