The political situation in the Western Balkans has become "increasingly challenging" in recent months, with the political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina deepening, tensions in northern Kosovo and inter-party divisions in Montenegro "paralysing the country's political system", said the document to be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

The document, prepared by the EU High Representative Josep Borrell’s staff, which Radio Free Europe (RFE) had access to on Friday, added that „disagreements among the Western Balkan partners hinder the implementation of regional integrations“.

According to RFE, the document calls for the strengthening of political engagement in the region, and for frequent visits by the EU foreign ministers to inform the regional countries about discussions held at the EU level.

Borel’s meetings with regional leaders are also envisaged.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will discuss the situation in the Western Balkans with a special focus on BiH and the relations between Serbia and Kosovo, but, according to RFE, no conclusions will be adopted.

Regarding Belgrade and Pristina, the document says the focus should now be on returning to implementing outstanding dialogue commitments, improving the atmosphere with concrete positive actions and working on a future-oriented agenda, ie a comprehensive agreement on normalization, and thus the European future of Kosovo and Serbia.

The document says that the political situation in BiH has deteriorated sharply since the summer.

„Unacceptable, inflammatory rhetoric that calls into question the country’s territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty has contributed to rising tensions on the ground,“ the document said, adding that state institutions are now „effectively blocked“.

The document warns that „everything should be done to preserve the stability of BiH.“