Brussels has given Belgrade a dilemma: Either stop obstructing Kosovo’s entry into the main international organizations or its aspirations for the EU will rise, reports Euronews.
Serbia’s path to EU membership now depends on its tacit consent for Kosovo’s membership in international organizations, such as the UN and the Council of Europe, according to international media.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on April 22 agreed to amend a key part of the document related to Serbia’s negotiations to join the EU, known as Chapter 35.
The change means that Brussels will freeze the process of Serbia’s admission to the bloc if it does not implement an agreement to normalize its relations with Kosovo.
The main condition for Serbia to fulfill is that it must stop obstructing Kosovo’s efforts to join the main international organizations, writes Euronews.
Kosovo has taken diplomatic steps to join the UN, the Council of Europe, the EU and NATO since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008.
Belgrade opposes the independence of Kosovo. As a member of the UN, it fears that accepting Kosovo’s membership in these institutions will implicitly recognize its citizenship.
With the situation reaching an impasse, the EU’s foreign ministers added the so-called Ohrid agreement to Chapter 35, which aims to “normalize” the troubled relations of almost three decades between Serbia and Kosovo.
The agreement takes its name from Lake Ohrid, the North Macedonian resort where it was signed in the spring of 2023 to reaffirm the Brussels agreement of 2013.
This agreement reached between Brussels, Serbia and Kosovo recognized the governing authority of the Kosovar institutions.
Reviving a troubled EU-brokered deal
Only some commitments in this document have been implemented by both Kosovo and Serbia.
This is why EU foreign ministers have set provisions in the Ohrid agreement, binding clauses for Serbia, as a kind of “take it or leave it” standard.
Serbia will not only have to avoid hindering Kosovo’s aspirations to join international organizations, but will also have to recognize official administrative documents issued by the Kosovo administration, such as license plates and passports with state symbols of Kosovo.
Such issues have been systematically opposed by the Serbian government since the 1999 war with NATO that imposed the partition of Kosovo.
Kosovo was previously an autonomous province within Serbia when both entities were part of Yugoslavia, which dissolved in 1991.
The terms created on April 22 by the EU create a political amalgamation for Belgrade, putting its political leadership and the entire Serbian society in front of an excruciating dilemma: either start a slow and progressive process of recognizing Kosovo or forget. any medium-term hope for EU membership.
Serbia has so far avoided any step that could be identified as de facto recognition of Kosovo’s citizenship.
On April 21, Serbs living in Kosovo mostly opted out of a referendum called by the Kosovo administration, according to the Kosovo government, to resolve the issue of mayors in Kosovo’s Serb-majority municipalities.
The case has been pending since November 2022, when Serbian police officers, mayors and judges in northern Kosovo resigned to protest what they claimed were “violations” of EU-brokered agreements by the authorities. Kosovar.
Self-management vs. self-determination
This question of the Serbian leaders is directly related to the Ohrid agreements.
In the text, Kosovo agreed to “ensure an appropriate level of self-management for the ethnic Serb community in Kosovo” and allow Serbian municipalities to closely harmonize.
However, Serbs living in the north claim that Kosovo opposes the creation of an “association of Serbian municipalities”.
There are four cities with a Serbian majority in the north of Kosovo: North Mitrovica, Leposaviqi, Zvecani and Zubin Potok.
This Serb-majority area of Kosovo is dominated by Lista Srpska (the only political party for the Serb community).
Kosovo claims that this party is directly guided by Belgrade, especially by the Serbian nationalist-conservative president Vučić.
The Kosovo government claims that the local Serbs are acting in line with Belgrade, which means that it does not want to make concessions on Serbian territorial autonomy.
“We don’t want the northern part of our country to turn into some kind of Republika Srpska,” said Kosovo’s leftist nationalist Prime Minister Albin Kurti, referring to the autonomous Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Kosovo cannot accept an integrated and autonomous Serbian administration within its territory along the border with Serbia, a country that does not recognize its independence.
Meanwhile, Serbs are afraid that by severing ties with their homeland, they may become second-class citizens in a country that will discriminate against them.
The Council of Europe and Kosovo – a new blow for Belgrade
Kosovo has recently achieved relative political success.
On April 17, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) approved the recommendation that Kosovo become its 47th member state, causing outrage in Belgrade.
President Vucic said that “if Kosovo joins the Council of Europe, Serbia is ready to question its membership in the Council of Europe”.
Serbia has conducted massive military exercises on its borders with Kosovo to show its deep disappointment with the decision of the Strasbourg-based human rights organization.
The decision of the KiE assembly was taken after Kosovo returned the land belonging to the Deçan Monastery to the Serbian Orthodox Church.
International organizations had requested that the Kosovar authorities take this step.
EU, Serbia and Russia
In December 2023, Serbian President Vučić stated that “I don’t think it is possible for the Ohrid Agreement to be included in Chapter 35, because this means de facto closing the door (of the EU) for Serbia”.
According to an April 2022 IPSOS poll, the number of Serbs opposed to EU membership outnumbered those in favor for the first time.
This poll found that most Serbs think the EU is dragging its feet when it comes to enlargement, with the bloc unwilling to accept new members.
The Serbs’ lack of trust in Brussels seems to reflect some truths.
A recent March 2024 IPSOS/Euronews poll found that the majority of EU voters are against further enlargement of the union.
Relations between Serbia, the EU and NATO have suffered amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Belgrade has not joined EU sanctions against Moscow.
Western capitals see Kosovo as a potential source of instability in the heart of Europe.
Serbia and Kosovo do not trust each other. Both are afraid to make concessions that could be betrayed by their counterpart.
Kosovo’s security is guaranteed by the presence of NATO and the EU’s support for organizations that promote the rule of law.
Still, the specter of volatility looms large.