With the aim of contributing to the achievement of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Spain has officially recognized the Palestinian state.
Norway and Ireland did the same. With this decision, they joined more than 140 states from the 193 member countries of the UN. As the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said on Tuesday, “the recognition of the state of Palestine is not only a matter of historical justice, with legitimate aspirations of the people Palestinian, but it is also an imperative to achieve peace”.
“It is the only way to realize the solution that we all recognize as the only possible one to achieve the future of peace – a Palestinian state coexisting alongside the state of Israel in peace and security,” Sanchez said.
With this move by the Spanish government, but also with its reasoning, the question arises as to why Spain is reluctant to recognize Kosovo, a state with an Albanian majority that declared independence from Serbia in 2008, after the war and NATO bombings against Serbia in the year 1999?!
While more than 110 countries have recognized Kosovo’s citizenship, including most from the EU, as well as the USA, Serbia refuses to recognize it, along with Russia and China. Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia have also not yet done so. The Spanish government did not respond to Radio Free Europe’s question whether the recognition of Kosovo could follow the recognition of the Palestinian state.
However, the issue of the recognition of Kosovo by Spain came up during the discussion of the meeting of foreign ministers on May 27, in Brussels, in light of Spain’s decision to recognize the state of Palestine.
Sources told Radio Free Europe that for this there was an open dispute between the parties from Germany and Spain.
While Germany was “very convincing” for the recognition of Kosovo, “Spain was on the defensive, arguing that Kosovo was not on the agenda”.
The former ambassador of Spain in Belgrade, Raul Bartolome Molina, stated in 2023 that his country’s position is clear: Spain does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, while it supports the EU’s attempts to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
“This position has not changed, nor will it change, and all our allies know this very well”, Bartolome had said on June 30, the day before Spain took over the Presidency of the European Union.
What is the significance of the recognition of the Palestinian state by Spain, Ireland and Norway?
The 1948 UN resolution that created Israel envisioned a neighboring Palestinian state, but some 70 years later control of the Palestinian territories remains divided and bids for UN membership have been rejected.
The United States, Britain and other Western countries have supported the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel as a solution to the Middle East’s most difficult conflict, but insist that Palestinian statehood must come as part of a settlement. negotiated. There have been no substantive negotiations since 2009.
Although EU countries and Norway will not recognize an existing state, only the possibility of one, the symbolism helps raise the international standing of the Palestinians and increases pressure on Israel to open negotiations to end the war.
The move also gives added importance to the Middle East issue ahead of June’s European Parliament elections, when some 370 million people are eligible to vote as a surge of the far-right is on the scene.
Diplomatic pressure on Israel has increased as the battle with Hamas – designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union – enters its eighth month. The UN General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 11 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine in a sign of growing international support for a membership vote.
The leaders of Spain, Ireland, Malta and Slovenia said in March they were considering recognizing a Palestinian state as “a positive contribution” towards ending the war.
Although dozens of countries have recognized Palestine, none of the major Western powers have done so, and it is unclear what difference the three countries’ move could make.
However, their recognition would mark a significant achievement for the Palestinians, who believe it lends international legitimacy to their struggle.
Little is likely to change things on the ground in the short term. Peace talks have stalled and Israel’s hardline government refuses to change its stance against Palestinian statehood.
Israel reacted immediately on May 22, withdrawing its ambassadors from Ireland and Norway.
The Israeli government criticized the Palestinian independence talks as a “reward” for the Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 others. It opposes any move to legitimize the Palestinians internationally.
Some major powers have indicated that their stance may be evolving amid protests over the fallout from Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between non-combatants and combatants in its count
Why does Spain not recognize Kosovo as a state?
The main reason for this is believed to be Spain’s stance against the aspirations of its northeastern region, Catalonia, to become independent.
This region has had several unsuccessful attempts to separate from Spain, while official Madrid has strongly opposed this move.
“Clearly, Spain does not want to recognize Kosovo, because it would have to accept that the provinces of a state have the right to secede… They do not want to give Catalonia more ammunition or arguments for separation”, he says to Radio Free Europe , Eran Fraenkel.
Now based in the US, Fraenkel had lived for several years in Spain where he had worked with the Center for Foreign Affairs in Barcelona as an expert on the Balkan region.
He has several publications on the Balkans and the relations of this region with the European Union.
Commenting on Spain’s recent move to recognize the Palestinian state, Fraenkel says that he sees this issue as separate from the possible recognition of Kosovo.
“The historical and political conditions in Kosovo and Palestine are so different that they are not really comparable,” he says.
What does Spain risk by recognizing Palestine or Kosovo?
While he says it could give the Palestinian cause some sort of boost, Fraenkel believes that the governments of countries that recognize the state of Palestine “recognize that it’s basically a symbolic (gesture).”
“The decision may be well-intentioned that states want to recognize the Palestinians’ right to self-determination (statehood), which everyone agrees on in principle. But no one can agree on how to do this in practice, and as long as there are unresolved issues between Israel and Palestine, then the operational (practical) issue of Palestinian citizenship will continue to be postponed,” he says.
He believes that there are also some major obstacles in the direction of the two-state solution.
“The recognition of the Palestinian state is dependent on not having a war, which unfortunately I am pessimistic about that can happen. So, let there be no war and let there be Palestinian agreement on what kind of government they want and where it will be,” Fraenkel explains further.
Further, Fraenken believes that the recognition of the Palestinian state will not cause Spain or other countries any major consequences in their position in international politics.
“Even if it creates some waves or some bad feelings between Israel and the states that are recognizing Palestinian statehood, I don’t think it’s something that can’t be overcome,” he says.
Meanwhile, since Spain sees Kosovo as a separatist movement, according to Fraenkel, the consequences of a possible recognition, for Spain, are immediate.
“The Catalans (years ago) wanted to hold a referendum, to hold a referendum to declare independence. Madrid called this illegal. Given this attitude of Spain towards Catalonia, how would it be possible for them to accept a separatist Republic”, adds Fraenkel.
In earlier official statements regarding the possible recognition of Kosovo, official Madrid had told REL that “the issue of the territory of Kosovo should be resolved through dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina”.
On January 6, however, Spain recognized Kosovo passports, enabling Kosovo citizens to travel visa-free to this country as well, after the visa regime for Kosovars is lifted on January 1, 2024.
Dialogue Kosovo – Serbia
Kosovo and Serbia are in negotiations for the normalization of relations since 2011.
The process, mediated by the European Union and supported by the United States, first started on technical issues, then moved to the political level.
In 2013, the parties reached the first agreement of principles for the normalization of relations, which became known as the Brussels Agreement.
Many of its points, including the one for the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, remain unimplemented.
Ten years later, at the proposal of the EU, the parties reached another agreement for the normalization of relations, which became known as the Basic Agreement or the Ohrid Agreement.
Almost all its points continue to be disrespected by the parties.
While they accuse each other of violations, the EU has made it clear to them that the process of European integration depends on the normalization of relations between them.
However, the authorities of this country explained to REL that this does not mean recognition of Kosovo.
The leaders of Kosovo, however, continuously declare that they expect a change of attitude from non-recognizing European states./REL
