The exchange of territories between Kosovo and Serbia with benefits for both the EU and both

Below, read his full text published in Politico, translated by KosovaPress:

A change of borders in the Balkans that the West should welcome 

Despite the risks, an exchange of territories between Kosovo and Serbia will bring benefits to the two countries, as well as to the EU.

Written by:   MARCO PRELEC

Europe has an intense and understandable fear of changing national borders. But discussions on a land swap between Kosovo and Serbia, which have been in an ongoing conflict for two decades, merit careful support.

That means going back from years of conventional thinking to Western foreign policy circles. But tension between Serbia and Kosovo is a major headache for the continent, which must be addressed. It fuels instability at the southeastern edge of the European Union and presents a major obstacle to the integration of the Western Balkans into the bloc.

Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence and officially considers the territory, whose population is mainly Albanian ethnicity, as a rebel province. Five EU member states do not recognise Kosovo as well. Most of them, like Spain, are afraid of separatists in their countries.

Russia and China keep Kosovo outside the K.B. and in an international Limbo.

As the deadlock continues, neither of these two countries has a realistic hope of joining the EU. Brussels has made clear to Belgrade that it must resolve its dispute with Kosovo before becoming an EU member.

There is no solution for Kosovo's rebus without an agreement that both sides truly support, and an exchange of land is the key to such an agreement. Kosovo would trade its Serb-run northern municipalities for Albanian majority parts in southwest Serbia. Serbia will recognise Kosovo and remove its opposition to K membership. B? Kosovo would commit to preserving and protecting medieval Serb monasteries and the remaining Serb population.

Why would Serbia agree to an agreement like that? Because it represents an recognition that American and European politics against them has failed. Kosovo split under international supervision and with the assumption that Serbia would have to recognise its independence and territorial integrity. A swap of land allows Serbia to say: “You tried to do this without us and that didn't work.” Appropriations like this are powerful, especially when countries face emotional issues such as history, identity, and territory.

For its part, Kosovo becomes a full member of the international community and has a clearer way for its EU membership. It can immediately join the Council of Europe, bringing its citizens the protection of the European Court of Human Rights.

Why, then, is there so much opposition? Chancellor Angela Merkel said last week that “there is an effort to talk maybe about borders and we cannot do that.” Carl Bildt, who has been involved in the region for almost 30 years, called the idea “a recipe for geopolitical instability”. (On the other hand, Wolfgang Petritsch, the EU's chief negotiator in peace talks in Kosovo, supports the idea. )

The main challenge is that changing a border everywhere threatens borders everywhere in the region. Macedonia has a large ethnic Albanian minority that dominates a territory that extends to the outskirts of the capital, Skopje; a secession would mean a terrible war. The Serb-dominated region in Bosnia and Herzegovina threatens to secede. Are you sure a land swap would make them brave?

Eight years ago, I went to Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for the International Crisis Group to investigate just that threat. Me and our Albanian and Serbian colleagues concluded that the risk was real but manageable. Since then, Macedonia has become much more stable and has a progressive multiethnic government; NATO membership has been possible since next year. The country's Albanian population is pragmatic and satisfied to live in a state with good prospects of European integration and prosperity.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Republika Srpska is another issue. Its leadership and many of its people really want to secede. Yet they know it is impossible.

Look on a map. Their region consists of two-half: a poor, small country in the east along the border with Serbia and a larger and richer sunset on the border with Croatia. Linked to them is the small Brcko self-government district.

Serbs may declare independence tomorrow, but two thirds or more of their people will remain divided west, with no land routes to friendly territory. Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitution already gives their region an extremely broad autonomy, which would probably lose after a failed break.

Many of the older Balkan connoisseurs instinctively withdraw from the border changes, arguing they reflect the logic of the terrible ethnic cleansing of the 1990s. However, they were aggressive acts, and that would be the opposite. Kosovo and Serbia are talking about a mutually constructive agreement, with considerable support among people to be affected the most. It promises to bring about a good will, a quality that is missing far in the region.