Only five months after Serbia and Kosovo were led to the negotiating table by EU-sponsored talks, the region it once hoped to peacefully integrate into the Euro-Atlantic system now faces dire challenges.
After a three-day border clash last week broke out that left one ethnic-Albanian police officer dead and injured four others, NATO has deployed hundreds of extra troops to the region in order to ease tensions and relieve its own peacekeeping force along two contested border crossings near Serbia.
Indeed, while original talks between the two sides were primarily aimed at easing the daily lives of the countries’ citizens including practical matters such as electricity, number plates and travel documents, the recent incident is often a reminder of the complex and unstable dynamics of the region. Despite the bilateral negotiations, however, Serbia still refuses to recognize the independence of its former province, and has subsequently enforced an import ban on Kosovar goods since it broke away from the former Yugoslavia in 2008.
Consequently, the flare-up emanated as a result by Prishtina’s central government to assert its control over the north by enforcing a similar trade embargo on Serbian imports. In an effort to replace the Serb members of the police along the disputed border posts with an ethnic-Albanian special police force, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci defended his actions by asserting that “it was a concrete step in establishing the rule of law" in the volatile north. “Kosovo cannot remain indifferent" and allow a part of its territory to remain "a black hole, not only for itself, but also for Europe,” he added.
While some top EU diplomats have condemned Kosovo’s actions, others – including the US – did not denounce the move but did criticize the country for not coordinating its actions with the international community. According to Pieter Faith, Head of the International Civilian Mission in Kosovo, the international community is struggling to overcome tensions in northern Kosovo, as the majority of its ethnic-Serb population does not recognize the rules imposed onto them south from the river Ibar. Catherine Ashton, who was quick to condemn the actions, said in a statement that it was “critical for both sides to return to dialogue and to resolve the underlying issues without delay.” The EU’s foreign policy chief has also been on the phone regularly with the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci of Kosovo, a spokeswoman for Ms. Ashton said.
Yet, notwithstanding the likelihood of continued negotiations between Prishtina and Belgrade, tensions remain considerably high. At a time when both countries are seeking closer ties towards Euro-Atlantic institutions, the fiery border skirmish may overshadow recent attempts at normalizing relations between the neighbors. Furthermore, the issue of northern Kosovo may damper aspirations of EU and NATO integration for both nations, as a mutually agreed-upon solution is unlikely to resolve the dispute settlement.
Moreover, as ethnic groups throughout the Western Balkans seek greater autonomy and international recognition, the “no man’s land” region has widened the debate about possible partition scenarios. In an interview by Stefano Giantin with the former UN Regional Representative in Mitrovica, Garard Gallucci, the retired US diplomat indicated that “the actions of Pristina and the support of the NATO forces make partition more likely, because it has hardened the line between Serbs and Albanians.” Gallucci added that it was perhaps time “for the UN to take control over the North and send its peacekeepers back, because this is may be the only way to keep peace until there is a political settlement.”
In spite of some calls for secession – primarily by Serb ultranationalists – Kosovo’s leadership has repeatedly rejected any notions for the country’s partition. After meeting with the EU mediator, Robert Cooper, Prime Minister Thaci stated that “internal regulation will not be part of any dialogue with anyone. Opening the issue of borders would mean to open the same issue for other states in the region. Every state has a Mitrovica," Thaci said.
Mikel Kotonika majored in the field of international affairs and German with a primary focus in the Western Balkan region. He has served as a research intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in its New European Democracies Project, where he spent most of his time on issues related to Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Additionally, he has had experience as an administrative intern at The Heritage Foundation, and also had the opportunity to work in Kosovo as a Polling Station Advisor in December 2010 in the country's first parliamentary elections since independence.
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Balkan Conflicts – Revisited
August 4, 2011
Only five months after Serbia and Kosovo were led to the negotiating table by EU-sponsored talks, the region it once hoped to peacefully integrate into the Euro-Atlantic system now faces dire challenges.
After a three-day border clash last week broke out that left one ethnic-Albanian police officer dead and injured four others, NATO has deployed hundreds of extra troops to the region in order to ease tensions and relieve its own peacekeeping force along two contested border crossings near Serbia.
Indeed, while original talks between the two sides were primarily aimed at easing the daily lives of the countries’ citizens including practical matters such as electricity, number plates and travel documents, the recent incident is often a reminder of the complex and unstable dynamics of the region. Despite the bilateral negotiations, however, Serbia still refuses to recognize the independence of its former province, and has subsequently enforced an import ban on Kosovar goods since it broke away from the former Yugoslavia in 2008.
Consequently, the flare-up emanated as a result by Prishtina’s central government to assert its control over the north by enforcing a similar trade embargo on Serbian imports. In an effort to replace the Serb members of the police along the disputed border posts with an ethnic-Albanian special police force, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci defended his actions by asserting that “it was a concrete step in establishing the rule of law" in the volatile north. “Kosovo cannot remain indifferent" and allow a part of its territory to remain "a black hole, not only for itself, but also for Europe,” he added.
While some top EU diplomats have condemned Kosovo’s actions, others – including the US – did not denounce the move but did criticize the country for not coordinating its actions with the international community. According to Pieter Faith, Head of the International Civilian Mission in Kosovo, the international community is struggling to overcome tensions in northern Kosovo, as the majority of its ethnic-Serb population does not recognize the rules imposed onto them south from the river Ibar. Catherine Ashton, who was quick to condemn the actions, said in a statement that it was “critical for both sides to return to dialogue and to resolve the underlying issues without delay.” The EU’s foreign policy chief has also been on the phone regularly with the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci of Kosovo, a spokeswoman for Ms. Ashton said.
Yet, notwithstanding the likelihood of continued negotiations between Prishtina and Belgrade, tensions remain considerably high. At a time when both countries are seeking closer ties towards Euro-Atlantic institutions, the fiery border skirmish may overshadow recent attempts at normalizing relations between the neighbors. Furthermore, the issue of northern Kosovo may damper aspirations of EU and NATO integration for both nations, as a mutually agreed-upon solution is unlikely to resolve the dispute settlement.
Moreover, as ethnic groups throughout the Western Balkans seek greater autonomy and international recognition, the “no man’s land” region has widened the debate about possible partition scenarios. In an interview by Stefano Giantin with the former UN Regional Representative in Mitrovica, Garard Gallucci, the retired US diplomat indicated that “the actions of Pristina and the support of the NATO forces make partition more likely, because it has hardened the line between Serbs and Albanians.” Gallucci added that it was perhaps time “for the UN to take control over the North and send its peacekeepers back, because this is may be the only way to keep peace until there is a political settlement.”
In spite of some calls for secession – primarily by Serb ultranationalists – Kosovo’s leadership has repeatedly rejected any notions for the country’s partition. After meeting with the EU mediator, Robert Cooper, Prime Minister Thaci stated that “internal regulation will not be part of any dialogue with anyone. Opening the issue of borders would mean to open the same issue for other states in the region. Every state has a Mitrovica," Thaci said.
Mikel Kotonika majored in the field of international affairs and German with a primary focus in the Western Balkan region. He has served as a research intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in its New European Democracies Project, where he spent most of his time on issues related to Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Additionally, he has had experience as an administrative intern at The Heritage Foundation, and also had the opportunity to work in Kosovo as a Polling Station Advisor in December 2010 in the country's first parliamentary elections since independence.
