EU: Solving problems with neighbors through dialogue, essential for enlargement

2024-01-25 19:53:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The idea that was heard in Kosovo by Prime Minister Albin Kurti and was repeated by other officials, that the European integration process should be separated from the dialogue with Serbia, is considered illogical and impossible in principle by many diplomats at the headquarters of the European Union.

Kurti had said that it is in the interest of the state of Kosovo, the EU and the USA that the process of Kosovo's membership in the European bloc is not linked to the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue for the normalization of relations. Kurti made these statements at the conference "Plan for the growth of the Western Balkans and the fastest integration in the EU", which was held on January 22 in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Some of the EU diplomats, with whom Radio Free Europe spoke, say that the solution of open problems or issues with the neighbors for each country is at the core of the enlargement process.

"Regional cooperation, good neighborliness and willingness to solve open issues with neighbors through political means and dialogue, since the Zagreb summit in 2000 and until today, has been set as a condition in the enlargement process. Without this condition, the expansion would not make sense, because the EU does not want to have member countries that have conflicts with their neighbors", said an EU diplomat recalling that "the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is one of the most important issues not only for these two countries, but for the entire Western Balkan region".

Even the EU's spokesperson for foreign affairs and security, Peter Stano, has said that good neighborly relations and reconciliation are a cornerstone of the EU integration process.

"Good neighborly relations, reconciliation and normalization of relations are a cornerstone of the EU membership process for each aspiring country. This is also a legal part included in the relevant documents related to the accession process of Kosovo, Serbia and all other countries", said Stano in his answer.

"The European Union and its member countries have been crystal clear - in public statements and directly with partners, that the road to the EU for Kosovo and Serbia leads through dialogue for the normalization of relations", he said, recalling some conclusions of the Council of of the EU since 2013, until the last conclusions of the General Affairs Council from December 12 of last year.

In those conclusions it was written that the normalization of relations and the implementation of obligations from the dialogue are essential conditions in the European path of Kosovo and Serbia and both risk losing important cases in the absence of progress.

According to European diplomats, dialogue is a tool for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, while normalization is a condition for both countries for their progress in the process of European integration. Therefore, these sources say, it is impossible and would be contrary to the logic of the enlargement process if this condition were to be removed.

EU sources have said that Serbia has heard several times that it cannot "remain hostage to the dialogue", because Belgrade claims that it has fulfilled all its obligations, while Kosovo has not fulfilled them and, according to them, "Kosovo bears responsibility for the lack of progress in the process of normalizing reports".

But what is understandable, according to EU diplomats, is that each country aspiring to EU membership has its own path and is assessed on its own individual merits in meeting the criteria.

"This means that if Kosovo fulfills its obligations and Serbia does not, then Kosovo will not be prevented from progressing. The opposite will also apply, so that Serbia is not a hostage to Kosovo's failure to fulfill its obligations", said an EU diplomat.

Sources in the EU recall that the implementation of the obligations from the dialogue will also become a formal part of the membership negotiation process with Serbia, including it in chapter 35 of the EU's negotiating framework, as requested by the member countries of the European Union./ Rel