Debat on challenges in process of normalising Kosovo relations Serbia

Representatives of Albanian and Serbian civil society organisations in Kosovo estimate that developments in the northern part of the country have deepened interethnic divisions and that successive tensions are significantly hindering the process of normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

These comments were made during a debate on dialogue on normalising relations the current situation, its challenges and opportunities, organised by the nongovernmental ACTIV association with headquarters in northern Mitrovica.

The latest round of talks between the parties in Brussels ended without any progress, similar to previous meetings.

Miodrag Milicevic from the ACTIV organisation said there is no expectation that the talks mediated by the European Union could bring any real progress in the near future.

This is a dominant opinion among many, not only in Kosovo but also in Serbia and beyond. All are pessimistic that at a near time we will have tangible results in terms of progress in dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. What we are charged most, here I am generally speaking in Kosovo, are the ongoing turbulence in the social and political plan. Kosovo's north is the main issue not only for the Kosovo public but also more broadly, and we are not already talking about any process of normalisation but stabilisation, so that all these tensions are brought to an acceptable extent”, he said.

In an effort to promote dialogue and improve interethnic relations, several individuals and civil society organisations from the Albanian and Serbian community have joined a coalition called Kosovo Civil Alternative “”.

Jovana Radosavljevic from this coalition raised concerns that lack of progress in dialogue and continuing tensions in the north could have serious consequences for Kosovo Serbs, but also for possible reconciliation between communities.

“I would like political actors and civil society to co-operate more and for political actors, separately those from the Albanian community, to become more vocal on these issues. Only in this way can we support each other and bring to the public all the problems we face. But we currently live in a parallel reality, which is the reality of Kosovo Serbs in the north but also in the south and on the other side is the reality in Pristina, which does not correspond to what is happening here”, she said.

Lulzim Peci from the KIPRED Institute for Building Politics said the debate with the local Serb population is necessary to ensure the implementation of any agreement between Pristina and Belgrade.

“If local dynamics are neglected, the agreements can hardly be put into existence and implementation because the agreements are made for people, they have the territorial part but, above all, done for people and if they are accepted by them much more easily implemented and on the other hand applied in a climate of trust which then brings together much more normal than just physical coexistence”, said Mr. Peci.

Senad Shabovic from the European Institute of Peace said there is a need for the launch of an honest political process that would produce a comprehensive plan for normalising the situation in northern Kosovo to pave the way for resolving open issues in Brussels.

It would be reasonable that even in this current situation, the Kosovo government would take specific measures for confidence building, which would be good for dialogue as well as for the situation itself and would not change, I think, drastically some Pristina politics. A move would, for example, be the continued commitment to recruiting members of police from the Serb community. It would be reasonable for us to appoint the commanders of four police stations from the Serb community,”, he said.

Mr. Shabovic said the comprehensive plan for normalising the situation in the north should include the return of Serbian judges and prosecutors to their jobs and holding new local elections in the area.

Serbian police, judges and prosecutors resigned in November 2022 in protest of the authorities' dismissal of a police officer in Pristina, following his refusal to implement orders pertaining to replacing Serbian car plates with Kosovo's.

Last week, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called for the return of the previous situation in northern Kosovo, but in Pristina this is seen as a requirement for undoing many actions promoted by Belgrade itself.