Will Serbia Recognize Kosovo's Independence for the Sake of EU Membership?

• 07.29.2017, 13:48
•  Europe,  World

Republic of Serbia Ministry of Finance

 Serbian President Alexander Vučić called on the society to begin discussions on the Kosovo problem, for the sake of further development and the European perspective of Serbia. In his opinion, the key issue hampering Serbia is its attitude towards Kosovo and Metohija. "We are obliged to consider the issue in a realistic framework. What we can and what we cannot do so as not to impede the future of our children," the president noted. In his opinion, to resolve the issue, Belgrade needs determination, patience and readiness for compromise.

"It is only then that Serbia will open all the ways of political cooperation and economic development, as well as the doors of the European Union, otherwise there will be a confrontation, the meaning of which is incomprehensible for us," Vučić said.

Negotiations on the association of Serbia with the EU officially began in January 2014. Until now, the country has opened negotiations on 10 of 35 articles of European law. In addition, Brussels emphasizes that Serbia's membership in the European Union depends not only on the progress in the implementation of reforms, but also on the settlement of relations with Kosovo.

It should be noted that the European Union puts pressure on both Serbia and Kosovo, linking progress the issue of membership to the settlement of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Under the pressure of Brussels, since 2011, the parties have begun negotiations on the settlement of relations with the mediation of the EU. An important achievement of these negotiations can be considered the agreement signed between Belgrade and Pristina on the principles of settlement of relations and the agreement on the Serb community, signed in 2015. On July 3, at an informal meeting mediated by Federica Mogherini, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Serbian President Alexander Vučić and Kosovo's leader HashimThaci decided to start a new phase of working talks to organize a high-level meeting.

It is expected that these negotiations can have a positive result, given Vučić's statement above. "Breaking the silence and accepting the truth about independence and sovereignty ... we are opening a new phase of social cohesion, regional cooperation, European integration and international recognition," Foreign Minister of Kosovo Enver Hoxay noted. The head of the Kosovo and Metohija office in the Serbian government, Marco Djuric, in his turn stated that Serbia wants to regulate relations with Kosovo, however the agreement between the parties should not serve exclusively to the interests of Kosovo Albanians and their dreams of independence.

"Belgrade continues to struggle for the sake of more than 120,000 Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as for the sake of thousands of other people feeling part of the Serbian state."

Let us note that Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. Despite its recognition by 114 states of the world, Belgrade does not recognize the independence of Kosovo. However, as can be seen from the statements of the Serbian authorities, for the sake of the European perspective, Belgrade is preparing to soften its position.

According to polls conducted in June by the Serbian Ministry for European Integration, only 27% of citizens are against EU membership. 49% of respondents want to join the EU, 13% said that they will not vote, and 11% have not yet decided.