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EU Special Envoy for the Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina Peter Sørensen made his first official visit to Pristina and Belgrade. Sørensen spent three days in the Kosovo capital (17-19.03.) and described his discussions with local officials as a “good start.” He said the dialogue should continue and added, the essence of the dialogue is to reach a compromise, but it is up to the parties to decide on that.
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said that the EU-drafted statute for the Association of Serbian Municipalities has legal flaws and will not stand the test of the Constitutional Court. Prime Minister Albin Kurti, for his part, insisted on the unconditional implementation of the Ohrid Basic Agreement and the Annex, while calling for the repeal of EU measures against Kosovo.
On 25 March, Sørensen was in Belgrade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić described his first meeting with Sorensen, since he took over the EU Special Representative role, as open and correct. Vučić reiterated that the formation of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities remains a prerequisite for real progress, accusing Kosovo of unilateral actions and obstruction of the process.
The same day, Vučić left for Brussels, where he met with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council António Costa. Topics covered all important developments in Serbia and the region were discussed. Vučić was in Brussels the previous week and the messages were the same: reform of media laws, election of the Electronic media council and the new Law on Electoral Registers. By the end of the year, our goal is to open at least two clusters, Cluster 3 and Cluster 2, in order to move quickly towards the European Union, but for this we need to do a lot, Vučić said.
Comment: Sørensen’s first visit to the capitals of Kosovo and Serbia since he took office on February 1 can be characterized as a scan of the situation on the ground. There is little chance of progress in the talks between Pristina and Belgrade, given the internal political instability in both countries and the lack of a clear EU strategy in the current geopolitical circumstances. This visit is more of an exploratory one, because in Pristina a government has not yet been formed after the last elections on February 9, and in Belgrade the government has resigned, amid a war of attrition with student protesters, and it is not clear whether there will be a new government or elections. So nothing concrete can be expected from Sørensen’s visit.
Brussels’ goal is minimalist – to maintain dialogue at all costs, while the EU administration is fully engaged in the war in Ukraine and has no time to deal with other topics. The dialogue remains in a holding mode, with the parties prioritizing the presentation of conditions over the fulfillment of obligations.
Sørensen’s visit will most likely be followed by proposals to continue the dialogue at possible levels, with meetings being held regardless of the expected outcome or lack thereof. The main thing is to keep the dialogue alive.
It is worth noting that for the first time the EU Special Envoy is talking about compromise, not just mutual recognition.
In Pristina, expectations regarding the EU are much higher. On the one hand, the authorities and institutions in Kosovo must analyze the messages and recommendations conveyed by Sørensen during his visit to Pristina, and on the other hand, they are trying to remain in Brussels’ focus and engage it in reforming the dialogue process. Analysts are considering the option of starting work on some other type of draft agreement that would lead to mutual recognition, i.e. starting everything from scratch.
