All posts by Carmen Gomaro

Carmen Gomaro - leading international news and investigative reporter. Worked at various media outlets in Spain, Argentina and Colombia, including Diario de Cádiz, CNN+, Telemadrid and EFE.
HEALTH

A study in millions of patients confirms the relationship between endometriosis and ovarian cancer

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Endometriosis can affect 10% of women of reproductive age. Various studies have pointed to the possibility that this pathology was related to a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.. Now, this association is confirmed with a large study with real-life data, which has also served to show the different subtypes of ovarian cancer most associated with endometriosis.

The study, presented today, Friday, at the plenary session of the congress of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), which is being held in Barcelona, was based on data from 128 million people, from 300 hospitals around the world, in mostly from Europe and the United States, although also from Asian, Australian and Brazilian centers.

“Although we started from a first database of 128 million patients, after making different selections we were left with 18 million, and finally we analyzed the characteristics of around one million women with and without endometriosis,” Ainhoa Madariaga details to this medium. , medical oncologist at the Gynecological and Breast Tumors Unit of the 12 de Octubre University Hospital in Madrid, and one of the authors of the work. “Having this large volume of data provides great robustness to our research.”

To carry out the research, a platform developed by the company TriNetX has been used that allows real-life data to be extracted in a structured way from the patients' medical history.. “It is possible thanks to the use of artificial intelligence that is used in various processes that allow, among other things, to balance data and handle a large volume; otherwise it would be impossible.. “It opens the door to conducting more research with real-life information,” adds the oncologist who presented the research at the national meeting.

To know more
Health. “Endometriosis is not talked about, in many cases it is kept in a dark room”
  • Editorial: P. PEREZ Madrid

“Endometriosis is not talked about, in many cases it is kept in a dark room”

Extra. The importance of highly complex oncological surgery in the survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer
  • Editorial: EL MUNDO Valencia

The importance of highly complex oncological surgery in the survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer

Greater risk of cancer, but without alarm

In 2019, a meta-analysis of different studies investigating the association between endometriosis and ovarian cancer had already been carried out and although its result was positive, the authors themselves warned that there was a high risk of bias.

“Therefore, the first question we asked ourselves was to see if this association was true; what we were able to verify is that women with endometriosis had up to 3.15 times the risk of suffering from ovarian cancer than those who did not suffer from it,” Madariaga points out. In any case, she emphasizes that this should not be a cause for alarm, since it is still a low risk and emphasizes that the vast majority of women with endometriosis will not have cancer.

“Even so, although the risk is low, it is also important to make this disease visible, which greatly affects the quality of life of women and is underdiagnosed. It may also be important to influence this population on healthy lifestyle habits that help prevent ovarian cancer or to have gynecological follow-ups for their condition,” comments the expert.. It should be noted that there is currently no ovarian cancer screening that has been shown to be effective.

Different types of ovarian cancer

Also in this study it was observed whether ovarian cancer in women with endometriosis had any specific characteristics. And so it was possible to verify, for example, that it is usually detected in earlier stages than in the general population, normally in stages I and II.

“We do not have data to explain it, but among the hypotheses we are working on is the fact that women with endometriosis tend to have more gynecological follow-ups, which can help diagnose cancer earlier.. But it is also possible that some treatments used for endometriosis, such as oral contraceptives, are a protective factor, or that the type of disease is different,” says Ainhoa Madariaga.

In fact, the study has also seen that ovarian cancer in women with endometriosis presents with a different biology. The most common are the clear cell and endometrioid subtypes, which tend to be rarer tumors in women without endometriosis.

“These differences had already been described, but thanks to this study we can confirm them and allow us to open lines of research on the rarest subtypes, about which we know more and more.”

Better prognosis

Another piece of information that is also extracted from the research is that the prognosis of women with ovarian cancer who have suffered endometriosis is better than that of those who have not suffered from it.

“At five years, the survival of women with endometriosis who have developed ovarian cancer is higher than those who have not had the disease.”. It may be due to the aforementioned different biology of this cancer, or also because it is usually diagnosed in earlier stages, when there are greater possibilities of cure,” says Madariaga.

SPAIN

Sumar minimizes criticism from Podemos and IU for the excessive control of Yolanda Díaz: "Decisions are made by consensus"

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It is no longer one, but two. Podemos and IU, the two largest organizations that make up Sumar, have raised their voices against the excessive control of Yolanda Díaz in decision-making and demand measures to “democratize” the governance of the coalition. In the face of this criticism, Sumar defends himself and minimizes the discomfort of his partners: “We have always made decisions by consensus, in a democratic manner, and that will continue to be the case.”

This was stated by Sumar's spokesperson, Ernest Urtasun, in the usual Monday press conference, which has been marked by the complaints with which Izquierda Unida closed last week, when Alberto Garzón spoke before the Federal Coordinator of his organization the anger at the decisions taken “without dialogue” and “unilaterally” by Díaz.

This feeling of IU has great relevance because it is no longer just Podemos that complains, but rather the one that has been a strategic and faithful ally during the construction of Sumar and in contrast to the belligerent and frontist attitude that the purple party had adopted since more than half a year before the culmination of the electoral alliance.

Sumar disavows his partners, in this case IU, and assures that decisions have been made under consensus and dialogue. “We will also expand our capacity to make these decisions as we build Sumar,” Urtasun apologized.

But the truth is that there is a before and after within the coalition since the deputy spokespersons were appointed in Congress.. That it is no longer the position itself, but the ability that this appointment gives to have a signature with which to register parliamentary initiatives and participate in the meetings of the Board of Spokespersons. Podemos (five deputies) and IU (five) were left without any of the three deputy spokespersons, who went to the commons (five), Compromís (two) and Chunta Aragonesista (one). Instead, Sumar was assigned the presidency of the group (Yolanda Díaz), the main spokesperson (Marta Lois) and the general secretary (Txema Guijarro).

Urtasun has expressed Sumar's “full respect” for the critical analysis presented by Garzón, as well as the specific proposals contained therein to configure a “Broad Front” in which Movimiento Sumar (Diaz's new party) is an organization. more” and that the governance of that space is more “democratic”, with coordination and representation mechanisms of all parties for collective decision-making.

Urtasun has expressed the desire to “find the best fit” in the future and has maintained that Sumar is developing in “permanent dialogue with everyone”. The most important thing, he stressed, is that a “winning” project can be built.. That is why he has assured that the Broad Front formula defended by IU and which draws mainly from the experience of Uruguay does not have to be the one used in Spain, since there are many ways to do it.. Thus, he has avoided opting for a specific formula and has left it as something to decide in the future..

Sumar Movement, first, has to hold its constituent assembly as a party and provide itself with bodies and leaders. It was planned to do so in the fall, but it would not be until after Pedro Sánchez's inauguration when it would be held.. That brings the deadlines to December at the earliest.

We can delve into more criticism

After Urtasun, Podemos has also given its press conference to establish its position. And in this case he has once again criticized Díaz's way of acting, saying that in Sumar “many unilateral decisions” are abused.

“There is a lack of spaces for consensual and democratic decision-making and unilateral decisions have been greatly abused in the Sumar space,” stated Podemos co-spokesperson Pablo Fernández, who appeared alongside Isa Serra.. In his opinion, “spaces for collective decision-making” are needed, which is something that for now “is not happening in Sumar.”

Regarding the exercise of its political autonomy, Podemos has demanded to intervene this Tuesday in the investiture debate. For now Sumar has not revealed who will speak, although it is assumed that Díaz would do so, as leader of the space. However, the purple party also wants to make itself visible at this moment and speak out.

Likewise, Podemos insists on a refrain that it has been repeating for quite a few weeks: the purple party must have at least one ministry in the future coalition government and the person who occupies it must be chosen by the leadership of Ione Belarra.. This nuance is important, because Podemos ignores the fact that Díaz can choose a minister with a purple card, saying that this is not worth it to them.

“I am going to be very clear and very forceful, the Podemos ministers have to be decided by Podemos, it is something about which there is no doubt whatsoever and we are very very clear about it,” Fernández stressed.

SPAIN

Vox complains against Armengol for allowing the "sainete" of languages with the "collaboration" of the "canelo" of the PP

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The recently approved use of co-official languages in the Congress of Deputies remains at the center of controversy. Vox, which will not use earpieces or simultaneous translation systems, announced this Monday a complaint for prevarication against the president of the Lower House, Francina Armengol, for allowing parliamentarians to intervene in Catalan, Galician or Basque before the Plenary approved the modification of the regulations.

In the eyes of Vox, the president of Congress prevaricated by allowing the “sainete” carried out by the separatist formations with the “collaboration” of the “canelo” of the Popular Party, said this Monday the general secretary of the formation, Ignacio Garriga, in clear allusion to the phrases in Basque pronounced by the popular spokesperson, Borja Sémper, just one day after criticizing their use by the independence movement.

This gesture did not please Vox, which left the chamber upon hearing Sémper, and generated discomfort in various sectors of the formation chaired by Alberto Núñez Feijóo.. Before this incident, Santiago Abascal and his party had already left the plenary session after Armengol denied Vox the right to speak, which demanded that the president guarantee the use of Spanish before approving any reform of the Congress regulations.

In fact, in order to protect the use of Spanish in the chambers, Vox presented an initiative in the Senate a few hours after the plenary session with which to protect the common language of all Spaniards in parliamentary sessions.. A proposal that this Monday Garriga once again insisted that the PP support it to “end the abuses of Sánchez and the enemies of the Spanish by instrumentalizing the language of all Spaniards.”

One day after the celebration of the historic PP event, in which Feijóo thanked Vox for its support in the investiture being held this week in Congress, Garriga said “celebrate any demonstration” in defense of the unity of Spain and equality between citizens, but considered that these events may have a greater attendance if they are organized from outside the “partisan axis.”

SPAIN

Sumar's negotiator believes that the PSOE seeks amnesty "out of opportunism, not out of conviction"

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Although Congress debates the investiture of the PP candidate, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, this week, both the PSOE and Sumar have intensified their negotiations with sovereigntist parties to obtain the necessary support for Pedro Sánchez to revalidate the coalition Government, as this Sunday the socialist leader made clear in an event in Gavà (Barcelona). What is clear is that one of the main obstacles to obtaining support is an amnesty that is already considered “irreversible” by the progressive forces.

This was said by Sumar's negotiator, Jaume Asens, who pointed to a pragmatic issue to reach an agreement since he recalled that the PSOE will facilitate an amnesty, although its legal fit is being studied, “out of opportunism and not out of conviction.”. In statements to Ser, Asens believes that this position of the socialists does not facilitate the substantive debate on this exoneration of the causes related to the 'procés' but it is a way to avoid a government between PP and Vox.

However, Sumar's representative also harshly rebuked the Catalan independence groups, mainly Junts, for putting self-determination on the table to facilitate an investiture.. He considers that it prevents the agreement for the moment and that is why he urged that these proposals be made later to a progressive Government. “It is a mistake to burn stages. Now we are negotiating the amnesty and we have to go step by step,” said Asens, who added that “if we put so many demands on the table, the other side will get nervous. There is no need to run more than necessary.”

For this reason, he directly challenged the leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, to be consistent with the electoral result and renounce unilaterality.. Asens recalled that the former Catalan president is the one who rules “in the most clear and obvious way” in the party and his “main interlocutor.”

SPORTS

Aitana Bonmatí, the undetectable leader: firm in defense of an "equal society" but in the shadows

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“We will not give up the battles that lie ahead”. Aitana Bonmatí wants to think about football, about beating Switzerland tonight in Córdoba and successfully closing a tortuous start in the Nations League off the field. On the pitch they erased their doubts, outside there is still a way to go and they escape between the lines. Although Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes have been the voice of the locker room in this crisis, the best player in the World Cup and the next Ballon d'Or has had a weight as important as it was undetectable.

With his inseparable pillow, he planted himself in serious Oliva, with an objective that he has been pursuing since a year ago he was part of the 15 that challenged the RFEF and that yesterday he verbalized: «There is a commitment so that everything goes better, so that we leave a legacy and good conditions for all generations to come. “We are an example for society, egalitarian, with the same rights.”. That is the objective for which the majority of players decided to play these matches.

«The first days were complicated, we couldn't sleep, stress, anxiety, I don't know how we were able to play so well with everything we had on us.. Now we are calmer, we have focused more on football, but we do not leave the battles that lie ahead,” he warned.. It is a warning because they know that, as their partner Mariona recalled, it is now that they have “a speaker and a responsibility: to leave football and women in a better place than where we found ourselves when we arrived.”

Third captain

How their messages are amplified is something that Bonmatí noticed at the UEFA gala, when with Erling Haaland as a silent witness, he spoke out against the “abuse of power” and alongside Jenni Hermoso. Those words already made it clear that, from the background, her voice was heard so much in the locker room that she was elected third captain, although, as Tomé specified, it was for this call.

Everything calmed down when the ball started rolling and relaxed with the victory against the Swedes. So much so that the continuity of Montse Tomé is no longer so in doubt. The president of the CSD, Víctor Francos, called her after the victory in Göteborg and gave her his support. A message that the coach thanked because “that boost is needed at a time like this.”

And that of the players? Tomé perceived it like this: «The first days we noticed something strange that had to be solved. We have managed to talk, look at each other, be sincere and take a step forward. “They have always been 100% professional and, since the victory, the days have been calmer.”

“It's not our concern”

Aitana gave slight nuances, who was not so forceful about her support for the coach. «I couldn't say anything else. I follow what Alexia and Irene said: it is not our concern. At first it was complicated, due to how the call was given, but now things are calmer between us, with the coaching staff and with the entire delegation.. “We want to focus only on football.”

While the internationals try to successfully close this first window of the Nations League and keep alive the hope of fighting to be in the Paris Games, the process opened against Luis Rubiales for the alleged abuse of Jenni Hermoso continues in the National Court. Yesterday the first witnesses testified, the player's brother, a friend and two experts summoned by the former president's defense. The soccer player's entourage clarified before the judge that they received pressure from RFEF employees. For their part, the experts cited by Rubiales' defense confirmed that the kiss on the player was consensual.

Next Thursday, RFEF employees will testify, including the sports director, Albert Luque. On Monday, October 2, it will be the turn of Jenni's colleagues: Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes and Misa Rodríguez will tell what happened and will be able to testify by videoconference.

SPORTS

A talk, a purpose and a lot of work: the keys to the change of top scorer Morata

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There was a time when Álvaro Morata (Madrid, 1982) did not score a goal against the rainbow. He went more than 100 days without seeing a door in 2016. In addition, many memes of the forward circulated, and still do, with some of his mistakes.. And those moments and those criticisms, especially during his time at Chelsea, affected his head.

Morata seemed like a troubled man, as if he had Atlas syndrome, that Titan who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.. However, thanks to psychological help and the support of his family, he managed to overcome what he described as “almost depression.”. Today, however, their situation is different.

On Sunday, his name was one of the most chanted in the Metropolitano. The two goals against his eternal rival, his former club Real Madrid, catapulted him towards the best start of his career: Eight goals in eight games, five with Atlético de Madrid (all in the league, which is equal to him in the Pichichi with Bellingham and Lewandowski) and three with the national team (hat trick against Georgia) in the qualifier for the 2024 European Championship in Germany.

The Madrid striker had never started with an average of one goal per game, in fact, his career average is 0.4 goals. He came close in 2020/21, when he played for Juventus Turin, with six goals in seven games and finished the season with 25 goals, the best mark in his sporting history.

Diego Simeone praised his game against Madrid and slipped a small detail from a conversation he had with the forward. “We know that he has his weapons to reach the numbers that he seeks and that we need,” said the Argentine coach in the press conference after Sunday's derby that Atético won 3-1.. Cholo demanded 18 goals for this season and Morata is projected to achieve it.

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He could not have done it, at least with the team in which he triumphs today. His name was on the exit ramp all summer and the forward managed “a couple of offers” to leave, according to Atlético de Madrid sources, although they assure that, both from the sports management and from the club itself, “always confidence was transmitted to him”.

However, Morata needed to feel important in the team and that could only be given to him by the coach, who is the one who chooses the eleven.. And he did it in a talk in Seoul at the end of July during the preseason that the team played on Korean soil.. 20 minutes of conversation between the player and Simeone with Gustavo López as a witness under the scorching Asian sun, as revealed by Marca.

In that meeting, of which Cholo did not want to give specific details, he did confirm that he gave him to understand that he was an important player at an ideal moment.. “He's at a perfect age” and he also valued “how he gets along with his teammates” for his performance, he confessed about his connection with the locker room.

Internal sources describe him as “a very professional and very settled footballer” and confirm that “he gets along well with everyone” both with his teammates, to whom he constantly jokes, as could be seen at the media day that the club organized. before the derby, as with the workers.

Morata celebrates his goal in the derby. OSCAR DEL POZO AFP

A deal, by the way, that also affects the selection. After the Rubiales scandal, Morata is moving so that the new presence, headed by Pedro Rocha, does not take retaliation against certain workers pointed out by the players in the women's section.

On the other hand, tactically, it is also very important for the game of the red and white team and what its coach intends.. «He is the best header of the top four. Morata is the most 9 of all and we need him,” confessed the Argentine coach.

He confirmed it with the two goals on Sunday, headers to centers by Lino and Saúl. Thus, Morata brings to 41 the number of goals scored with his head in his career (three of them this season), 23% of the total and two more, for example, than with his left foot.. A percentage of specialists in this luck such as Falcao or Llorente. Morata's head, today, is focused and at its best.

SPORTS

Assefa destroys the women's marathon world record with a reduction of more than two minutes

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Nobody knew the Ethiopian Tigist Assefa until a year ago. As a middle distance runner, a specialist in 800 meters, she barely became international, present at an indoor World Cup and at the Rio 2016 Games, but always eliminated in the first rounds.. That's why when he injured his Achilles tendon in 2017 and decided to try out on the asphalt, he didn't receive any offers.. Berlin, New York, Tokyo, London, Chicago, Boston…. The best marathons were unaware of its existence and it debuted at 42 kilometers in the spring of 2022 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a hot, hard, remote test.. She finished seventh with a time (2:34:01) consistent with her gray track record.. But suddenly, a few months later, boom! At 29 years old, Assefa's career and life changed.

In the Berlin marathon in 2022 he won with the third best time in history (2:15:37), became a benchmark – and image of Adidas – and announced a splendid future. This Sunday on the same stage, again at the Berlin Marathon, he confirmed it in a big way.. In a dizzying race, Assefa broke any estimate, any calculation for history: not only did she break the women's world record for the distance, she destroyed it as if that were simple.. The previous record, from 2019, of the Kenyan Brigid Kosgei was two hours and 14 minutes (2:14:04) and the Ethiopian left it at two hours and 11 minutes (2:11:53), an unprecedented reduction. Eliud Kipchoge's men's world record (2:01:09) is just over 10 minutes away.

Assefa's feat can be explained through technological evolution, not in vain did she wear very light Adidas with a carbon fiber plate – and very expensive, with a price of 500 euros -, but many other runners used similar inventions. Her success can only be understood thanks to the adaptation to distance of an athlete born for it.. Due to her strange progression, it is only known that she trains near Addis Ababa, the capital of her country, under the guidance of Gemedu Dedefo and in a group that includes Tamirat Tola, Olympic marathon medalist and world champion in the World Cup. from Eugene 2022. But it is clear that his genetics, his technique and his work are perfect for the marathon.

“It is not easy for a middle-distance runner to jump into the marathon, but surely she was not a middle-distance runner,” her agent, the Italian Gianni Demadonna, explained to Runner's World magazine last year.. The representative also admitted that Assefa was very out of shape – eight kilos over his weight – when he agreed to run the difficult Riyadh marathon and that he had to force all his contacts to make room for him in last year's Berlin marathon.. “Her coach, Gemedu, had told me: 'I have never seen a woman run like Tigist.'. And that's why I risked it,” said Demadonna, whose work has now multiplied. Last Saturday Assefa opened profiles on Instagram and TikTok and will most likely now attract sponsors of all kinds.

“I didn't expect to run so fast, but it's the result of so much hard work,” the marathon runner commented this Sunday after forcing all her rivals to commit suicide in Berlin.. Until kilometer 15, up to six rivals followed her below the world record pace, the Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui and her compatriots Workenesh Edesa, Senbere Teferi, Helen Bekele, Zeneiba Yimer and Woldu Etageng, but afterwards the majority paid for it.. Chepkirui finished second (02:17:49) without being able to surpass her best time and the rest had to let the Tanzanian Magdalena Shauri (02:18:41) pass between abandonments and fainting. Assefa's pace was too much.

Now the Ethiopian's next goal, she said, will be to win Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games, something her country has not achieved since 2012.. As strange as it may seem, he must first earn qualification for the event in a demanding Ethiopian team with other candidates such as Amane Shankule and Gotytom Gebreslase, current world champions and runners-up, Yalemzerf Yehualaw or Letesenbet Gidey. Then, it is assumed, Assefa will return to Berlin to improve himself again. After what he has experienced, and with his progression, now the question with Assefa is where he will leave the marathon world record. Can it get women under the 2:10 barrier?

Kipchoge wins without a world record

In the men's event, Eliud Kipchoge also tried the impossible, but in this case it was impossible. Like last year, the best marathon runner in history tried without success to take human beings to the unknown dimension that awaits them in less than two hours. Again close to the hour in the half marathon (1:00:22 this time), again he couldn't keep up the pace in the second half. At 38 years old, in his fifth victory in Berlin, his mark (2:02:42) was only a disappointment because of who he is: it was the eighth best time in history, but the fifth best of his career.

INTERNATIONAL

European reaction to new spiral between Serbia and Kosovo angers Pristina

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If last year the license plate war reignited the powder keg in the Balkans, this summer it is the hangover from the municipal elections that has triggered – again – tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. An attack that occurred on Sunday in northern Kosovo leaves four dead and six detained. The EU, arbitrator in the dispute between Pristina and Belgrade, has condemned the events in the strongest terms. Some words that do not seem sufficient for the Kosovar authorities, who feel that Brussels is turning towards Serbian partisan postulates.

According to local media, early Sunday morning a group of about 30 armed Serbian men launched an ambush with grenades and gunshots against a Kosovo police patrol in the northern village of Banjska.. While fleeing, they would have locked themselves in a nearby Serbian Orthodox church for hours, a fact that made the outcome difficult since the Kosovar authorities needed special permission to access the monastery.

From Pristina they hold their neighbor directly responsible. “We condemn this criminal and terrorist attack. Organized crime with the official political, financial and logistical support of Belgrade is attacking our state,” said Albin Kurti, Prime Minister of Kosovo, through his Facebook profile.. In Belgrade they dissociate themselves from the attack. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attributed the attack to Kosovo Serb citizens who “do not want to suffer Kurti's terror anymore.”

In the midst of this crossfire, which is already the worst clash between the two in recent years, the NATO peace mission in Kosovo, known by the acronym KFOR, assured that its troops are in the area and “ready to respond in kind.” be necessary”. For his part, Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, has issued a statement demanding the de-escalation of tension in the north of the country.. Of course, measuring each word and avoiding pointing out names and surnames, putting a label on the facts.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the horrific attack perpetrated by an armed gang against Kosovo police officers in Banjska/Banjskë, northern Kosovo (…) The facts surrounding the attack must be established. And those responsible must be brought to justice,” said the head of European diplomacy.. Shortly after, the former Spanish Foreign Minister spoke by telephone with both Kurti and Vuric to ask them for “the restoration of calm and stability.”

Discontent with Brussels

The lukewarm reaction of the European Union has raised dust in Kosovo. “Really, Mr. Borrell? The terrorists kill the police and you make a call to all actors? Not a word about support for the police? None against the terrorists? You were also referring to the terrorist attacks in Spain as hostile? What a shame,” Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, Kosovo Foreign Minister, reacted through X (the old social network Twitter).

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine 19 months ago, Pristina feels that a change of script and priorities is taking place. His feeling is that one of the great concerns of Europeans in the Western Balkans is that Serbia, the country in the region closest politically to Russia, ends up succumbing to the seduction of Moscow.. And the Kosovar authorities reproach that, in this chess game, the Europeans are taking off the suit of neutral referee in favor of their opponent.

Days before the outbreak of the current wave of violence, Kurti already accused Miroslav Lajcak, the EU's main negotiator in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, of not being “neutral” and of positioning himself in favor of Serbia.. The reproaches came after the failure of the last round of dialogue, held on September 14 in Brussels, where Borrell directly accused Kurti of the lack of progress due to his insistence on Serbian recognition of his country, becoming independent in 2008.

With talks spanning two decades leaving minimal and dribs and drab results, the European position is increasingly complicated and frustrating.. At this juncture, voices calling for a greater US presence are growing.. “We have to maintain more consultations with Brussels, Washington and other actors to get back on track,” said the Kosovar at the time.. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meliza Haradinaj, has gone further, who has recently advocated completely abandoning the dialogue led by Brussels and letting the United States take the reins of the diplomatic initiative.. This move would be a slap in the face to European diplomacy and credibility and a failure in its strategic neighborhood and in a region whose ultimate goal is to be part of the community club.

The EU has sponsored the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina since 2011. It is the only official channel open. Last March, timid progress was made with a plan for the normalization of Balkan relations, but these months progress has not gone beyond paper. Europeans insist that good relations are a non-negotiable requirement to be part of the EU. While Serbia is one of the best positioned in the race towards Brussels, Kosovo – which five European countries, including Spain, does not recognize – does not even have candidate status.