Eighteen months without a high-level meeting – the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has stalled. With both countries grappling with internal challenges, the final agreement seems distant. Analysts argue that the international community must push for mutual recognition between the two countries, not just the normalization of relations, and have a Plan B in case the dialogue fails.
Peter Sorensen’s first visit to Pristina as the European Union’s special representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue came at a time when this process doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s agenda.
In Kosovo, attention remains focused on post-election issues, while Serbia faces protests and internal unrest.
Despite this, the message from the EU envoy was clear: the dialogue must continue.
“The dialogue is to ensure that there are meetings. Whether it will mean a compromise or not, it’s up to the parties to determine. The dialogue is for this, and we’ve been doing this since 2011,” Sorensen said on March 17 in Pristina.
Fourteen years ago, the first rounds of talks between Kosovo and Serbia began, mediated by the European Union. Over the years, they have fluctuated, sometimes progressing quickly, other times more slowly. There have been dozens of agreements and commitments, but many of them have not been implemented.
Leaders have changed in Brussels, Pristina, and Belgrade, but the narrative has also shifted. If, in the past, mutual recognition was spoken of as the main goal, now the focus is solely on normalizing relations between the two countries.
After meeting with Kosovo’s state leaders, Sorensen emphasized the need to continue the dialogue but said he would like to hear both sides before deciding on the next steps.
“The goal is to continue the process and move forward. I have discussions here in Pristina, but I also need to go to Belgrade. Once I have these conversations, I will sit down and see where we are,” Sorensen said.
The two sides don’t seem anywhere near agreement. There have been no high-level talks since September 2023.
On September 14 of that month, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić met in Brussels, mediated by then-European leaders Josep Borrell and Miroslav Lajčak.
Ten days after that meeting, the armed attack in Banjska occurred, where armed Serbian groups killed a Kosovo police officer.
Subsequent EU efforts to bring the two leaders to the table have failed – mostly due to conditions presented by one side that the other opposed.
After meeting with Sorensen, both Kurti and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani had several demands for him: from the removal of the EU’s punitive measures against Kosovo to the handing over of the group responsible for the Banjska attack to Kosovo authorities.
