14 minutes agoFormer EU representative for Kosovo: I am not optimistic about EU plan for normalisation of relations
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)The former European Union representative in Kosovo status talks, Stefan Lehne, does not believe the EU plan for normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia would end their disputes. The sides present that plan as <x0immation from outside” and are unlikely to be constructive in its implementation, Lehne says. [...]
The sides present that plan as <x0immation from outside” and are unlikely to be constructive in its implementation, Lehne says in an interview for Radio Free Europe.
What worries me is that both sides present this as something imposed by the EU, by the US. They do not portray it as something that is basically a good solution to problems. According to them, it's something we don't want, we don't like, we hate, but we have to admit it because we don't have a choice. On the contrary, the road to the EU is blocked, Americans will not be satisfied and so on. This doesn't fill me with much optimism. Because if you do something that is imposed on you by someone else, then you are unlikely to be very constructive in the implementation process. There are many issues that need to be resolved, and that reduces my optimism”, Lehne said.
Moreover, he adds, the plan does not include full recognition of Kosovo by Serbia, and that would discourage other countries that do not recognise its independence.
“Even if Serbia was willing to accept Kosovo's membership in the UN, that would not happen, because Russia would not allow”, Lehne, now analyst at the Carnegie Europe Institute, adds.
Speaking of the Association of Serb majority municipalities, he says this association “would not bring miracles” in Kosovo-Serbia reports, but would unblock the European integration process of both countries.
It depends entirely on how it applies. I think the basic ideas of the 2013 agreement [for the establishment of association] are fully in line with Kosovo's capacities to function as unitary state. It would be a kind of limited autonomy and may be with limited competence. [The association] is something Kosovo has accepted and then blocked for various domestic reasons. It is something Kosovo must implement and entirely depends on how it is regulated.
In the last few years, I haven't followed him too closely to tell you exactly what to do. But it is something Kosovo must bring to the table. Without moving in this direction, the whole process will be blocked”, Lehne said. / REL
