Time to Re-engage with Kosovo and Serbia: Strengthening EU Foreign and Security Policy amidst Internal Contestation (original) (raw)
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Rome, IAI, March 2022, 23 p. (IAI Papers ; 22|03), ISBN 978-88-9368-240-4, 2022
The dispute between Serbia and Kosovo over the status of the latter has the potential to destabilise other European states, including EU member states, which have unresolved ethnic, national minority or religious issues. The European Union has been acting as a facilitator of dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo since 2011. Both countries have a European perspective. Serbia is a candidate country while Kosovo is still a potential candidate for EU membership. The EU has made use of political, legal and financial instruments to shape its relations with the parties and has relied on the principle of conditionality, linking progress in the association and accession process with progress in the dialogue on normalisation of relations between the two. However, this strategy has shown certain limits. The EU’s contribution as a facilitator of dialogue has been affected by internal divisions among the EU member states over the recognition of Kosovo’s independence and by differences between EU institutions on the status of this country.
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Compared to other Western Balkan countries, the Kosovo case is of particular importance, on the one hand, by the fact that it is the youngest state in the region and, on the other hand, the integration of Western Balkan countries could not be sustained without resolution of Kosovo’s status.This paper aims to analyze the progress made in the relations between the two countries. The normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is an important factor in regional co-operation, as well as an important condition for stabilizing the Balkans.To make possible the realization of this objective Kosovo has undertaken a number of initiatives, which could facilitate the process of European integration. National Strategy for European Integration aims at supporting Kosovo’s aspirations for membership and EU integration, so that by 2020 Kosovo may have “completed its homework” for EU integration.Following the declaration of independence, Kosovo’s main objective is Euro-Atlantic integration. ...
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In the 1990s, as part of efforts to build a new, post-Cold War identity the EU made a significant endeavour to become seriously involved in the successful management and resolution of conflicts in its close vicinity (Keukeleire and MacNaughtan 2008, 242). The turbulent region of South East Europe, and the so-called Western Balkans within it, thus seemed to be an appropriate testing ground for 'testing' the power and credibility of the EU. 1 Several studies had focused on the EU's efforts to stop war in former Yugoslav countries, showing the EU had reacted poorly to the outbreak of those conflicts (