Hahn: Skopje must clarify what happened in Kumanova and bring those responsible to justice

Brussels asked Skopje to clarify what happened this weekend in Kumanova and those who caused it to be brought to justice. 

When asked about this issue during a joint conference with the President of Georgia, Commissioner Hahn listed three points in his message, by underlining that this event should not be used for ethnic tension or to remove the attention friom the Macedonian political crisis.

“We are all concerned about what took place this weekend. We appeal any involved party to cooperate and clarify what happened, find who is responsible, and act together on this issue. The attack should not remove focus from the serious internal political situation of Macedonia, on which we made various appeals to the government and opposition, for them to sit and find common grounds. What happened should not be seen as a chance to avoid resolving the basic problem of the country. Thirdly, this attack should not be used to create further complications and give ethnic tensions. Those who are in charge and also their neighbors must reflect and act to punish, with transparency and track records”, declared Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighboring and Enlargement Negotiations.

Brussels expressed its condolences to the relatives of the police officers and to the families that were found in the middle of this firefight in the Albanian neighborhood of Kumanova. The European Commission hopes that this will be an isolated case to not tension the inter-ethnic relations any further.