During a debate on the situation in the north of Kosovo in the European Parliament on Tuesday, several Croatian MEPs on called for the introduction of measures against Serbia due to the attack of the Serbian paramilitary squad on the Kosovo police.

“We have seen restrictive measures in Kosovo. At least the same or more extensive ones should be applied in Serbia after recent events,” said Picula at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Due to non-compliance with the EU’s demands, the EC took measures against Kosovo, suspending work in the working bodies within the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, withdrawing invitations to high-level meetings and suspending Kosovo from its €7.5 billion program.

“Our policy must be coherent. We cannot have divergent policies among member states,” he added.

Picula told the Croatian state news agency Hina that the events in Kosovo are not a local incident, “but it is an event that can represent a kind of turning point not only in the relations between Belgrade and Pristina, but will certainly affect the positioning of the European Union as well.”

Picula, who on Tuesday participated in separate group meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Donika Gërvall-Schwarz, and the EU envoy for the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, Miroslav Lajcak, notes that he proposed on Tuesday, on behalf of his club Socialists and Democrats, that the resolution about the mentioned topic be included in the agenda of the next plenary session, which was accepted.

Zeljana Zovko (HDZ/EPP) said that Serbia must immediately take “decisive steps to reduce political and ethnic tensions”, including the withdrawal of military forces from the area near the border with Kosovo.

Serbian actions “cannot remain unanswered and require a clear and strong response”, she added at the plenary session of the European Parliament.

Zovko told Hina that “one red line was crossed”.

“This has set Serbia back (in the eyes of European officials) and turned out to be an extremely reckless move,” she added.

Croatian representatives looking for clear answer from EU

Ladislav Ilcic (Croatian Sovereignists/ECR) said that recent events show that Serbia is “the main cause of instability in Kosovo”.

“Serbian aggression against Croatia began in the same way 30 years ago, with the attack of Serbian militants on the Croatian police, and that is why we must by no means belittle the events in Kosovo,” he said.

HDZ representative Suncana Glavak said that the situation in Kosovo “requires our concrete action” and “concrete measures”.

“We have mechanisms for that, we have used them for many other countries. Therefore, let’s be brave, let’s do it now. We don’t want the war-mongering rhetoric that takes place here in front of our doors. Blockades, tensions and threats, that’s the current situation.”  said Glavak.

“The EU is based (…) on peace, cooperation and mutual respect. If Serbia wants to become part of our family, then let it accept these principles,” she added.

Tomislav Sokol (HDZ) said that “Serbian attack methods, which include blockades and armed attacks on the police, irresistibly remind us of the bloody raids carried out by Chetnik groups at the beginning of the Serbian aggression against Croatia.”

A similar message was sent by numerous MEPs from ideologically diverse parliamentary groups.

Only Jean-Lin Lacapelle, a member of the French National Rally, Marine Le Pen’s party, and of the Identity and Democracy group, blamed Kosovo’s leader Albin Kurti for the crisis.

“It is clear that the Kosovo prime minister should be sanctioned,” he said, expressing support for “the Serbian people in Kosovo.”