The Estonian politician, Kaja Kallas, will be the new head of diplomacy of the European Union and at the same time head of the negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia. Those familiar with the region and the negotiation process between the two countries foresee difficulties surrounding Kalla’s work and say that a special emissary will be needed, reports RKS.
Johanna Diemel, an independent analyst and expert on the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, has stated for EWB that Kallas comes from a state that recognizes the independence of Kosovo and that, unlike Borell, Kallas has also called for the EU five who do not know Kosovo.
Deimel sees the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as something that will hinder Kallas and the latter’s focus on the Kosovo-Serbia negotiation process.
“Kaja Kallas is the third female politician to hold the position of High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. A first major difference with her predecessor Josep Borell is that she comes from a state that recognizes Kosovo and secondly that she has appealed to the EU 5 that does not recognize Kosovo. She is a vocal critic of Russia and this adds a new dimension that requires a lot of persistence and diplomacy for her work,” said Deimel.
The analyst further says that things can become difficult with the possible return of Trump to the White House, since with him he says that the exchange of territories will be back on the agenda.
“If we then turn our attention to Washington, where Donald Trump’s election victory is becoming more and more likely, Serbia and Pristina will also find themselves in a new geopolitical and security environment. For Kallas, this could also mean that the exchange of territories is back on the agenda,” she says.
Deimel underlines that the Dialogue is currently blocked and needs a new approach.
“I think that once again he will appoint a Special Representative for Dialogue for this purpose. It will be interesting to see who (and from which country!) he will appoint for this task”, concludes Johanna Deimel.
Igor Novaković from “CIG” says that the focus of Kalla will be the EU’s relationship with Russia and “most likely not the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue”.
However, he says that there may be a change in the focus of Kallas if it is estimated that the situation between Kosovo and Serbia could worsen the region.
“Given that, in all likelihood, the EU cannot currently agree on Miroslav Lajcak’s successor, it is possible that there will be a change of focus, if it is estimated that in terms of security, the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo can worsen the situation in the region. In any case, I think a new Special Representative is needed, because there is also a technical part of the negotiations. At the same time, Kallas will probably be a mediator in the Belgrade-Pristina talks at the highest political level, as Borell was”, emphasizes Igor Novaković.
