Former Prime Minister Kosumi: Confederation With Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania

Former Kosovo Prime Minister during 2005-2007, Bajram Kosumi, has presented a strange idea of the current circumstances for creating a new, modern confederation, where Kosovo would join Albania, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia.

For this idea, Kosumi takes as a trigger the changing of global policies and a series of concrete things like Trump's statement about Montenegro as a NATO member, Brexit, dyvergence among EU members on the issue of immigration and democracy, etc.

Kosumi claims that such a confederation would do work for each of the member states, as it would increase the capacity for security and capacity for the economy. It would all contain 78,000 square miles [78 sq km] and over 7 million people, writes Periscope.

He adds that the nature of this confederation would not be the same as that of Yugoslavia once, but one that would preserve the sovereignty of each member state.

This is Mr. Facebook Kosumi:

Four small countries in Southeast Europe can make a powerful community

Small countries in Southeast Europe -- Albania, Northern Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro -- are still building the foundation and vision for the new XXI era. I'm going to discuss not a project for their future, not a project yet, but only a personal vision, slightly different from traditional politics.
Since we would often mention these four states, I would kindly call them the “four small states”.
NATO is certainly the most important security factor for the four small states. On the other side, The EU is a strategic factor for their future, however much the process of EU integration is going on.
The first question posed for the four small states is, Is this current security and political condition enough for them? The second question is, can the four small states do something more about their future?
The answer to the first question is simpler. During the long transition to overcome X centuries X-XI in four small states has engaged role NATO and the EU. Honeymoon looks like the end. In 2018, President Trump asked about NATO's interest in small countries in this part of Europe, asked why he should send his troops to Montenegro if Montenegrins go to war with Russia, and asked for more funding for the security umbrella. Yes, in 2018 Great Britain began the brexit, as European leaders displayed views up to as opposed to the basic EU values (such as the policies of migration, refugees and democracy), with which the EU's foundations challenged.
In this situation, the four states would have to start a process of defining strategic interests.
Despite some progressive steps, such as the Greece-Macedonia agreement, the fragile situation, primarily security, continues to last to SEE and, if it were not for NATO, the situation would certainly take other courses. Serbia continues to have hostile relations with Kosovo and strained relations with the other three states, without hiding in any case invading or hegemone flats. Russia is trying to penetrate the policies of four states in many ways, as in all this part of Europe. Another factor, increasingly threatening to the world, is international terrorism, for which four small states are required ground.
How can four small states resist such developments? The answer to this question leads to the question: What is the potential of four small states in this new situation?
The four small states have a small human potential -- from 630 thousand people, as long as Montenegro -- up to 3 million people as Albania has.
The armies of these small states begin from 2500 as there are Kosovo, and as many as Montenegro to 9000-100 as do North Macedonia and Albania. None of the small armies of these four states can be the guarantee of the country's security from any average regional or European state, of course if Tramp speculates about why NATO should protect Montenegro.
Our four countries have small territory, small markets, with a highly developed economy. Bruto, the product of four countries, ranges from about $5 billion as much as Montenegro, to 13 billion as Albania does. The economy of each of the four states remains at the mercy of any average European state, or as the Bulgarian prime minister said at the Sofia Summit in 2018, the gross product of all small SEE states does not amount to the Czech nation (215 billion dollars).
Much of the budget of four small states goes to state administration salaries necessary to each state, but a big burden to each of the small states.
And finally, every 60 miles [100 km] in line at a border! One understanding crosses three borders to reach the beaches of Ulcinj at an air length of no more than 200 kilometers. A raven must cross two borders to come to Pristina at a length of less than 200 kilometers. Even the greatest optimists can be disappointed.
What, then, can the four states do for a better future for citizens and themselves? That's the second question, which cannot be answered easily. I'm just mentioning some opportunities to move forward, but I hope that in time there will be a more real and progressive vision.
With a possible deal between four small states for foreign policies and diplomacy, instead of 28 embassies as much as Montenegro has as 37 embassies as Albania (Northern Macedonia and Kosovo have among these figures), it could have 126 embassies, provided an embassy introduces the four states. How multiple the expenses for embassies would be reduced and how multiple the world would be covered with representation of four states!
If these four states create a common market, without political and customs barriers, their gross product would become $35 billion, capable of competing in the European market and the world market. A space of 78,783 square km and 7 and a half million inhabitants would be created.
Suppose an agreement for border crossings of people and goods without border points. How much cost would they take and how long would it be saved?
Suppose an agreement to reshuffle the small armies of four states under the NATO umbrella: an army co-ordinated by 30,000 soldiers would be created.
And so, lots of other deals.
This is not to create a classic confederation, even the opposite, to create a modern confederation where each state preserves its own sovereignty, but in matters where they can act as a body, to do so, initially by making four-way agreements on certain issues.
Why would a modern confederation work when the Yugoslav Federation didn't work?
For in this community there is no great country and hegemon that will threaten others. None of the countries would fear the other. The four small countries are more or less equal in potential, and they have no hegemony ambitions against each other.
Why can a modern confederation be created when Albanians are an integral part of each state and as a majority nation? Because precisely Albanians have strategic interest in maintaining independence and friendly relations with Northern Macedonia and Montenegro, due to the Albanian factor in those states, and because of Serbia's hegemonic appetites and influential policies of others.
Why do northern Macedonia and Montenegro have interest in such a confederation? Because the two states would create a security mechanism, not risking anything, against policies not intended by Russian neighbours and appetites. Both Northern Macedonia and Montenegro realise that in a community equal to Albanians (Albania and Kosovo) they can be independent and secure, otherwise, the four small states will be preyed to the ambitions of others.
Also, more national differences of the past would be settled in a community and the Kosovo-Serbia problem eliminated. Have not in the past ten years proved that the four states have very good relations with each other?
Finally, why a modern confederation in relation to the EU? First, the EU after the break has entered a new road of re-definition. Second, four small partners one by one are not represented as factors for the EU, while a modern confederation presents a very important factor.
With these agreements, large administrative expenses would be reduced, and saved money would be invested in public services. An internal security mechanism would be established, and no neighbouring state and no farther away could pose a threat to four small states.
A fragile region and conflict generation would create a developed economic region, generating stability, security and economic development.
Of course, this is just a vision of me for our troubled region for centuries. But if the leaders of four small states carefully follow the foreign policies of Aleksandar Vucici, Milorad Dodik, as well as Russian ambitions for SEE, they must act quickly in this direction.

(Autori has been Kosovo's prime minister. The idea has been unveiled in” Balkans Leadeship Conference”, organised by Universal Peace Federation, Tirana, 2019)