U.S. the Secretary of State has appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Palmer as his Special Representative for the Western Balkans. In a statement on August 30, the State Department said that Palmer will lead U.S. efforts to strengthen “diplomatic engagement in support of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and focus on integration of the Western Balkan countries into Western institutions."
The EU is also expected to appoint a special representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process, after US appoints US Deputy Secretary of State Matthew Palmer as Special Representative for the Western Balkans. Besides, French President Emannuel Macron said in a brief press release following his meeting with Serbia's foreign minister Ivica Dacic at the UN 74th Plenary Session, France would be involved in the dialogue process after the October 6th elections in Kosovo.
The dialogue, launched in 2011 to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which is on its way to EU membership, came into a deadlock when Kosovo began to impose a 100% tax on Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina's products in late 2018.
