Albania, Kosovo seeking a common future

Sounds ironic and ironic: What was thought to be an easy and guaranteed enterprise does not seem to be such. One reason for which neither Tirana nor Pristina can be blamed is the past, partition and the long lack of communication between the two societies, elites, the very weak lack or ties of both markets.

Market ties between Albania and Kosovo were natural, particularly in the northern and eastern part of Albania, until the first decade of the twentieth century. But the European powers' decision to recognise an Albanian state in 1913 left out the clean Albanian cities, such as Prizren and Gjakova, cutting off the same natural market and civilisation. During more than a hundred years of Albanian state history, Albania and Kosovo have functioned as separate markets. Creation, for a short time, of a natural Albania, almost at its ethnic borders during World War II, from Nazi Germany, remained far from functioning by a common state, market, and administration. Although a decade has passed since the Declaration of Independence, the economy reveals other differences between trends to co-operate and reality. Establishing an ethnic market between Albania and Kosovo may seem like a matter of natural development, given that they belong to the same nation. Now that Kosovo is an independent state, the natural trend seems to be really that of integration. However, the economy is one of the weakest ties in relations between Albania and Kosovo. In order to understand what appears to be an abnormality in relations between the two countries, one must first look back.

Over the past century, the markets and economies of the two countries have acted in complete isolation from each other. The trade ties of the early 20th century, influenced by Ottoman rule, were destroyed for decades. Kosovo became part of the vast Yugoslav market, while Albania gradually closed into itself. The difficult 1990s, when communist regimes collapsed and Yugoslavia collapsed, certainly were not favourable for legitimate trade.

Second, for many decades, both economies have been largely agrarian and very often on a slightly developed level. In a similar way with all Balkan countries, the industrialisation rate in Albania and Kosovo remains low to date, and this prevents integration into the current lucrative economic sectors on a global scale.

Thirdly, Balkan countries' markets and economies are generally being oriented towards European Union member states, and especially in nearby countries, such as Italy and Greece. Trade exchanges among Balkan countries, which are not members of the EU, are far from their potential, while markets remain poor. Strengthening economic ties between Kosovo and Albania is of fundamental importance to the economic progress of the two countries. Through Albania, Kosovo has access to the sea, as well as an expansion of its very small market. The Durres-Kukes highway, known as the “Road of the Nation”, has generally brought significant changes to road infrastructure between the two countries and will greatly facilitate the exploitation of Kosovo's Durres Port.

The social and cultural sphere is more dynamic. At some extent, Albania and Kosovo appear to represent different societies and different levels of modernisation. Religion and the family play a quantitative and perhaps different quality role in the social structure of each country's society, but at the same time both societies reflect common traits associated with lower law enforcement, poor community organisation, etc.

Ties and co-operation between the two societies are still weak and not fundamental- sore. In many developments related to society, state, culture, education and media, Kosovo seems increasingly similar to Albania. However, should this mean that Albania is exporting a model or is this simply a manifestation of the contradictory developments of Kosovo society itself?

Albania was among the first countries to recognise Kosovo's independence, which seems to be the only contribution to recognising Kosovo's sovereignty as a state despite claims and pledges of Albanian diplomacy to lobby for new recognition.

Over a decade in bilateral relations, although there is more enthusiasm and of course fewer obstacles, there is little substance. It seems that the culture of markets in the time of the former Yugoslavia is still prevalent, when Kosovo was a Federation province and ties with Albania were either dim or totally lacking. Thus, Kosovo a former Yugoslav Federation entity has developed a culture for markets and exchanges with other Yugoslav entities, but not with Albania. That's why the former parts of Yugoslavia, now all independent states, are from an economic point of view towards the previous experience. For Albania, when it comes to economic relations with Kosovo, there cannot be a return to previous experience, if we certainly rule out the return before 1913, when Kosovo's main cities were an integral and functioning economic part with northern Albania. Meanwhile, the idea of creating a common market between Albania and Kosovo on ethnic grounds, regardless of patriotic, populist desires and slogans, seems to not work. Both markets in Albania and Kosovo reflect a low degree of functionality, and ethnic co-operation is sure it cannot help them. Pavara-like improving infrastructure between the two countries and the efforts of the two governments are still not possible to live a healthy economic relationship. Over the past three years, Albania has taken the initiative to hold the two governments' joint meetings to further bilate co-operation, mainly in the economic arena, but the results are still not visible. During the last four five years between the two countries, a number of agreements have been signed in the economic, education or culture field, but most of these do not contain concrete instruments or sublegal acts that would particularly push economic relations forward. Brotherly agreements between the two states resemble general protocols, where the parties engage in principle for deepening co-operation, when virtually barriers exist between the two countries that make it difficult to communicate and co-operation. “Greater Albania” is economic Albania, but on both sides of the border no serious initiative is being proposed, no instrument.

The poverty of economic relations between the two countries should also be sought in the current economic situation of Albania and Kosovo, on the lower degree of law enforcement, the level of corruption, as well as on the impact of monopolies on the two countries' economies.

From a strategic point of view, Albania and Kosovo see their common future as members of the European Union and not in creating a common state, as often speculates with the idea of Greater Albania. At the level of societies, the majority of Albanian citizens in Albania believe relations with the state of Kosovo are strategic and the government should cost you the right mind. Meanwhile, Albanians in Albania do not support Kosovo joining Albania. Only 9 percent of Albanians believe that Kosovo's union with Albania is positive, despite 35 percent who believe it is negative, while another 37 percent are totally neutral about the issue. The picture is not the same in Kosovo, where 81 percent of the public supports unification in a common state. Nevertheless, Albania's political leaders prefer a sort of uncertainty, with full equivoke thesis, when they talk about the future of the two states, in an effort not to lose even the votes of remaining nationalists, who still talk about unresolved national issues and see its solution as uniting the two states. Currently, there is not a political party or serious organisation in Albania to support Kosovo joining Albania in a joint state, against Vetevendosje in Kosovo, with a political platform and stable shares, but without increasing support and quotas in parliament. The long-running past, since the birth of an independent state in Albania, poor economic, cultural, human ties, poor economies, low levels of state functionality and democracy, as well as populist trends and actions in both states, are the ones that define the nature of relations between Albania and Kosovo as two independent states.

But a new factor that seems to influence more substantial and perhaps more determining in the future of relations between Albania and Kosovo, as two independent states, is Albania's new rapprochement with Serbia.

The above article is part of the study “A we report between Albania and Serbia: The implications for Kosovo”