The evacuation of Escobar and Lajcak, Serer: Goodbye failure, dialogue urges reform

Serwer, in an authorial writing on <x0), says Assistant Secretary of State Escobar and EU Special Representative Lajcak, both with mandates for the Western Balkans over the past three years, are extending their farewell to Washington this week.

The “is about two experienced diplomats who know the Balkans well. They have cooperated without much friction. The biggest obvious issue has been American support for the Open Balkans, a scheme to facilitate trade [in Western Balkan countries]”,Serwer wrote.

American University Professor John Hopkins, Serwer, says that the “Europeans rightly viewed it as unnecessary and duplication of their efforts in what is known as the Berlin Process”.

“But Lajcak and Escobar failed to produce political normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia, which they made their top priority”, he says.

What went wrong?

According to Serwer, Escobar and Lajcak started off badly and ended up worse. They promised Belgrade that the establishment of the Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo would be a priority. They ended up without significant progress in that wrong priority.

“Pristina was dedicated to association in a 2013 Brussels agreement. But Escobar and Lajcak neglected to give Belgrade a quid pro quo. The association, under the Brussels agreement, should be in line with the Kosovo Constitution and the justice system throughout its territory. The agreement encourages Serbs to participate in Pristina's ruling institutions and vows that Kosovo and Serbia will advance towards the EU without interrogating each other on that path”.

Then he writes that “Belgrade has rejected all these commitments. Serbia has maintained de facto governance over the Serb population in the majority Serb communities in northern Kosovo. It organised the boycott of municipal elections there. Belgrade also drew Serbian officials from the police and courts. And Serbia has done everything possible to prevent Kosovo's entry into the Council of Europe”.

Belgrade later switched to offensive

Frustrated with the failure of the EU and the US to offer association, Serbia last year decided to make things worse. It kidnapped two Kosovo police officers from Kosovo territory, paid people to attack NATO peacekeepers within Kosovo, and organised a terrorist attack that was supposed to be the justification for a Serbian military intervention”writes American analyst.

“By the end of last year, Serbian President Vuciq was hoping for changes to geopolitical conditions, including the re-election of Donald Trump president of the US, which would enable Serbia to regain part or all of Kosovo. The newly inaugurated Serbian government includes vocal supporters of Ukraine's Russian invasion and the chief lawyer of the Serbian world, an euphemism for Serbia's Euro-11x1>.

Politics Needs a Restore

Serwer says It is clear that Western policy towards Serbia is not working. Washington and Brussels are not doing much better with Kosovo. Pristina has refused to move towards Association, despite costly European consequences and harsh US convictions. Only if Belgrade implements other provisions of the 2013 Brussels Agreement will Pristina naturally respond. Vucinac is unable to do this”.

“Success requires a restoration. The more political dialogue, the more apparent failure for more than a decade. The technical dialogue, which preceded that political one, was much more successful. It focused on issues that could produce visible benefits for citizens of both countries. Despite contaminated application, the results were essential. Even today, Pristina and Belgrade have done better with practical issues such as license plates and identity documents than political normalisation”writes Serwer.

This is the right direction for the future. Political normalisation for now is a bridge far away. Serbia will not be interested in handing over its claims on sovereignty in Kosovo until the war in Ukraine ends Russian annexes there. Kosovo will not be interested in forming association until it is confident that Serbia recognises its sovereignty and territorial integrity. But, both Belgrade and Pristina can welcome easing movement through their bilateral borders and enabling more free and legal trade”.

Finally, American analyst says “Pristina has rightly begun to insist on using its official currency -- the euro -- in transactions within Kosovo. But this is creating problems for the Serb community, which receive subsidies from Belgrade to Serb dinars. This is the kind of practical issue the EU and US should focus on. Belgrade and Pristina should agree on transparency for Serbia's subsidies to Serb communities within Kosovo, which would help resolve the currency issue. This is the practical direction in which the prospects for success --” stand.

“Goodbye to failure requires setting the right priorities”, Serwer wrote.