Mutual mistrust once again prevailed between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, who on Saturday night again got up from the negotiating table without putting their signatures on the agreement laboriously sponsored by Brussels to normalize relations.
Both parties, however, “are fully committed” to applying all the measures contained in the text and, even more importantly, the annex on how to put it into practice, assured the high representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, after of more than 12 hours of talks that he did not hesitate to describe as “difficult” with the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Kosovar prime minister, Albin Kurti. The meeting was held this time in North Macedonia, on the shores of Lake Ohrin, a beautiful setting that was intended to convey serenity to the parties to seal an agreement that anchors peace in the Western Balkans, an old objective that has taken on an urgent aspect after the Ukrainian war.
Although it is not exactly the result that the European Union hoped for – in the end it is a verbal agreement and without specific deadlines to advance on key issues such as the creation of an autonomy regime for the Serb minority in Kosovo – he concluded that it is as far as it can be reached and he chose to move on to the implementation of the accepted commitments, even if it is without ink through.
“I must admit that we presented a more ambitious and detailed proposal,” revealed Borrell, pointing out the responsibility of both parties in the result. On the one hand, Kosovo “lacked flexibility on the substance of the agreement.” On the other hand, Serbia did not make it easy regarding the form, with its “previously expressed refusal to sign”, even if they agreed to apply it. The “creative” proposals of the European team were not enough to make either Vucic or Kurti change their minds, but the agreement and the attached document on its implementation, the most delicate part, are nevertheless considered “adopted” and both The parties are “obliged to comply with them”, since they will be part of their negotiations for entry into the EU.
The agreement details the path to maintain “good neighborly relations on the basis of equal rights” until reaching a de facto recognition of Kosovo’s independence, since the main text, endorsed by Belgrade and Pristina on February 27 in Brussels , includes the commitment to “recognize their respective national documents and symbols.” What has been tried to close in Ohrin were the practical steps to carry it out. That is, “what must be done, by when it must be ready, by whom and how,” Borrell explained in an institutional statement, alone, at the stroke of midnight on Saturday. “It is often said that the devil is in the details, but sometimes he is more in the schedule.” This is where the agreements reached on the deadlines are not very concrete.
On the one hand, Kosovo has promised to open “immediately” negotiations to establish an arrangement that “guarantees an appropriate level of self-management” for the Serb minority, a milestone included in the 2013 agreements that Pristina has not realized and that has led to to Belgrade to castle in other subjects. Borrell avoided referring to this structure as an association of Serb minority municipalities, which is how it was defined.
At this point, the term is toxic and Brussels prefers to talk about principles and models of autonomy already proven in Europe in which to draw inspiration. “We do not want to experiment or try something there that has never been tried elsewhere,” said a senior European official recently in Brussels who avoided specifying the examples they are considering. “If there are models that work, why be afraid to incorporate their elements? Both sides are beginning to listen to these arguments.”
On the other hand, both parties have agreed to support “urgently” the declaration on missing persons that should lead to the exchange of information on the location of graves, another milestone for the long-awaited reconciliation blocked by terminological and substantive differences, in this case by Belgrade.
Back home, Kurti took refuge in Vucic’s refusal to sign to justify the result. The Serbian leader, for his part, reiterated that he does not want to sign any legally binding international agreement with Kosovo because he does not recognize its independence. Both leaders, however, claimed to want to maintain “normal relations” with the other party. And to that will Europe clings.
