Sunday, April 12th 2026
In 2013, as Europe saw expansion and stability, Kosovo and Serbia signed the first agreement to normalize relations in Brussels.
After years of post-war tensions and pain, the neighbors seemed ready for a new chapter – unusual for the history of the region.
The Brussels agreement was signed on April 19 of that year by the then prime ministers of both countries, Hashim Thaçi and Ivica. Dacic. It followed months of intensive negotiations, mediated by the head of the EU’s foreign policy, Catherine Ashton.
“I want to congratulate them for their determination during these months and for the courage they have shown. It is very important that what we are seeing now is a step away from the past and for both countries, a step closer to Europe,” Ashton said at the time.
Very promising for two countries that have joined the European Union. they have a strategic goal – at least in words. This was clearly reflected by both prime ministers – with Thaçi emphasizing the potential of the agreement.
“This agreement today represents the beginning of a new era – that of interstate reconciliation and cooperation. This agreement will help us heal the serious wounds of the past, if we have the wisdom and wisdom to put it into practice,” Thaçi said at the time.
Beyond the hope created now 13 years, developments on the ground show that most of this wisdom and wisdom remains to be proven.
Although the leaders in Kosovo, Serbia and the European Union have changed over the years, progress on the key point of the agreement – the creation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo – has remained limited.
This, after the Constitutional Court of Kosovo has found inconsistency with the Constitution in several principles. Although it has left room for harmonization, there have been constant reservations in Pristina, due to, as has been said, the possible influence of the Association on the functionality of the state, while Brussels and Belgrade have insisted on its establishment.
In the end, despite dozens of meetings, a draft European statute and a new agreement after ten years, the process has remained at a standstill.
Serbia, for more than a year, has been facing anti-government protests, while Kosovo with political divisions, which for months have left it without a functional Assembly and a Government in office. In these circumstances, there has also been a lack of direct contact at a high level – such a meeting between the leaders of the two countries, Albin Kurti in Kosovo and Aleksandar Vučić in Serbia, has not taken place since September 2023.
From the point of view of the former Austrian diplomat, Wolfgang Petritsch, this blockage of the Brussels process carries more immediate consequences for Kosovo than for Serbia.
Speaking for the Expose program of Radio Evropa e Lira, he estimates that Kosovo pays a price in security, stability and its orientation towards the future, while its policies remain mainly internal and not sufficiently adapted to the wider European and geopolitical context.
“Whenever I am in Pristina or talk to people there, I get the impression that there is only Kosovo and nothing else. This is a completely wrong approach. Mr. Kurti has obvious qualities, but if he does not understand that he must act as part of a team – both within the country and in the European arena – things will not go well for the development of Kosovo”, says Petritsch.
Radio Free Europe asked the Government of Kosovo if it is open to a new phase of dialogue with Serbia and how it plans to avoid the stalemate, but did not receive an answer.
During the presentation of the new government cabinet, last month, Kurti said that his Government will pursue the normalization of relations with Serbia through a constructive and creative dialogue.
“As we have done in the past four years, normalization is a matter of regulating relations between the two states, that is, as a bilateral and external relationship, and not interference or meddling in internal affairs”, Kurti said on February 11.
At the UN Security Council, the American representative stated this week that President Donald Trump expects a clear commitment from Kosovo and Serbia to work together, to reduce tensions and to to return to a real dialogue, not just a declarative one. According to Tammy Bruce, the US will only work closely with leaders who “look to the future, not to the past”.
For Petritsch, the first step should come from Pristina, which should offer the Serbs concrete cultural, linguistic and administrative responsibilities, according to the Brussels Agreement. This would signal, according to him, a new cooperative approach and create the possibility for a real relationship with the Serbian representatives. Even if Serbia were to oppose it, it would emerge as a blocker of the process.
Petritsch points out that guarantees from Brussels are essential in this regard.
“It has been clear from the beginning that the Europeans will not allow the creation of another Republika Srpska. We paid a high price for it in Bosnia and Herzegovina and we do not want it to be repeated in Kosovo. So, clearly, it is about cultural, linguistic and administrative issues. that must be resolved,” says Petritsch.
Radio Free Europe asked the European Union if there are efforts for a new phase of dialogue, but did not receive an answer. This week, but also last month, the EU’s special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Peter Sorensen, made several visits to Kosovo and Serbia, where he emphasized the importance of moving the process forward.
In March, he was also received by officials of the US State Department in Washington, with whom he said he has ensured harmonization for the next steps in the dialogue, but did not provide more details.
Rikard Jozwiak, editor for European Affairs of Radio Europe Free, says that the EU is actively trying for a new meeting between Kurt and Vučić, which is expected to be held at the end of spring, but the exact date and its realization will depend on the developments on the ground.
“There has never been more optimism for a meeting between the two leaders since Kaja Kallas took over as the head of the EU’s foreign policy. This is seen as the best opportunity in almost a year and half for such a meeting to take place. When exactly, it is not known, but the hopes are for sometime around May or June”, Jozwiak tells Exopose. However, he is pessimistic about any substantial progress or advancement towards EU membership in the near future, because, he says, the leaders in Pristina and Belgrade benefit in domestic politics by taking a tougher stance towards Brussels, and they do not expect concrete benefits from the EU during their careers. political.
“The integration process takes time. We see how long it took Montenegro, which does not have bilateral problems like these two countries. We see how blocked North Macedonia is. We see how blocked Bosnia is. Therefore, the promise of the EU, which was very strong in 2013 – and even from 2011 when the negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia started – no longer has that weight. How many countries are there? joined the EU since 2011? Only Croatia, which was on the way to membership”, recalls Jozwiak.
He warns that this status quo between Kosovo and Serbia is dangerous, but adds that Europe has become indifferent to this danger, while the leaders in Pristina and Belgrade have learned to live with it, and even benefit from it.
Petritsch shares the same concern, but he underlines the importance of Kosovo acting with urgency.
In an increasingly unstable world, small and politically fragile states are “the first to fall” when crises erupt, he says.
With uncertainties over the role of NATO and the future of American engagement, Petritsch warns that Kosovo “cannot allow the status quo”. According to him, the progress in the implementation of the Brussels Agreement is not just a technical detail, but an essential condition for the stabilization of the very existence of the Republic of Kosovo. necessary and to go one step further, to become part of the family of European states”, says Petritsch.
Kosovo, which is still not recognized by five countries of the European Union, is the only country in the Western Balkans region that does not have candidate status for membership in this bloc.
Serbia, which until recently was considered a leader in the process of admission in Brussels, has not opened any chapter of negotiations since 2021, due to the refusal to to adapt to the EU’s foreign policy.
According to Jozwiak, the entire Western Balkans now occupies a low place on the EU’s agenda – it is important, but clearly overshadowed by the wars in Ukraine and Iran… until some serious crisis provokes attention.
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Source: prizrenpost
Etiketa: Brief
