Balázs Orbán pointed out that Hungarian foreign policy has long sought to draw attention to the fact that the Balkans should be offered the prospective of European integration. ‘This is another potential conflict zone that can explode just like the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. It is important for every EU country to stand in favour of the Western Balkans enlargement policy for the sake of the stability of the region,’ he emphasised.

‘Despite their injuries, the Hungarian soldiers have shown brave commitment, and many of those who were able to do so have already returned to their posts,’ the Hungarian defence minister said after the clashes between KFOR troops and local Serbs in North Kosovo. The minister stressed that the stability of the Western Balkans is very important to Hungary, which is why it is present in the region not only diplomatically and economically, but also militarily in the framework of the KFOR mission.

The clashes began on Friday and continued on Monday morning as a result of ongoing unrest following the recent elections, where ethnic Albanian politicians won mayorships. Confrontations broke out between ethnic Serbian protesters taking to the street and the police near the municipal offices of three towns. 20 Hungarian soldiers were injured.

Hungary has always been on the side of peace, but the country needs strength and preparation for its defence, and it must participate in peace-supporting operations within the framework of alliances.

The establishment of the Union of Serbian Municipalities is still a major contention for Kosovo. Should Belgrade and Pristina still be willing to accept a West-backed agreement, the two countries would have official representatives in each other’s capitals.

Encouraged internationally but rejected locally—will the Union of Serbian Municipalities be established in Kosovo?

Despite the tensions with Serbia, in December 2022 Kosovo formally applied to join the EU. But unless relations between Serbia and Kosovo are normalized, accession of either of the countries is unlikely.

Protests, roadblocks, police officers being injured and imprisoned in North Kosovo have again escalated the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia.

Twenty-two years have passed since the end of the last Yugoslav war. Two decades may be enough to rebuild a country, but the memories of the war and the wounds it caused are still present and will be present for a long time to come in the still unstable Balkans.

Fears of the escalation of the conflict are mounting as Serbia and Kosovo are unable to reach a consensus on the disputed Serbia-issued car number plates.

Kosovo’s decision to mandate the use of Kosovo-issued IDs and license plates sparked border tensions with Serbia earlier this month. Despite recent EU-mediated talks in Brussels, the two countries have not yet settled their dispute.