Over the past two years, I have written several pieces on the situation in Kosovo and how successive governments have failed their people. But when Prime Minister Kurti took over, I felt satisfied that Kosovo had finally elected a Prime Minister who would deal with the situation and bring the country out of its 12-year decline, writes Dr. Alon Benn for the Allgemeiner -Meir, professor of international affairs at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University.
With the best of intentions, however, Kurti’s priorities did not align with what society wanted and needed. He became obsessed with what President Vucic of Serbia said or did, and in particular wanted to impose his authority on the ethnic Serb community in Kosovo. I still believe that Kurti can change course and put his country on a trajectory that is in line with his vision of making Kosovo an independent and prosperous democracy – but only if he re-prioritises his domestic and foreign agendas.
He recently called for mending ties with Serbia, which hopefully signals a brighter future.
There are five facts that could dramatically change Kosovo’s course for the better.
Let’s start with the fact that the EU and the US are ultimately the guarantors of Kosovo’s independence. Ultimately, these two forces made it possible for Kosovo to become a sovereign state. It would be strategically self-defeating if they reneged on their commitment. Kurti showed short-sightedness by not following their advice, and instead of strengthening the critical ties between his country and the EU-US, he rejected them, especially regarding the need for new elections in the predominantly ethnic Serb-majority areas of northern Kosovo.
The last election was boycotted by the Kosovo Serbs; only five percent of the area’s total population voted. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in response to the unrest: “We strongly condemn the actions of the government of Kosovo that escalate tensions in the north and increase stability.”
It is puzzling why the Prime Minister of Kosovo, a country that depends almost exclusively on US and EU political support, economic aid and security guarantees, would oppose their recommendations regarding Kosovo’s Serb-majority municipalities. That prompted American figures, including the US ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, to say bluntly about Kurti: “We have some very fundamental issues with him as to whether we can count on him as a partner.”
Second, Kurti does not seem to appreciate the fact that for the US and the EU, Kosovo is an integral part of their common strategic interest in the Balkans, especially now that the war in Ukraine is raging and Russian President Putin will do everything possible, even by force, to destabilize the region . And given the religious, historical and cultural affiliation between Russia and Serbia, it is obvious that Putin would use this relationship to the maximum extent to serve his immediate interests.
Thus, to reduce Putin’s influence over Vucic, the US and the EU must accommodate Vucic, but only to a certain extent without compromising Kosovo’s national security. This is not to say that Vucic’s refusal to recognize Kosovo and his lack of cooperation are acceptable, but his unnecessary alienation is counterproductive to both Kosovo’s national interests and the strategic interests of the US and the EU.
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Third, Kurti has devoted and continues to devote too much time to Serb-majority municipalities. Starting with the dispute over license plates, through the disagreements over the Association of Serbian Municipalities, to the ill-fated elections in the Serb-majority areas, all these problems have distracted Kurti from his main task of looking after the needs of his people.
Indeed, no matter how far Serbia may go to incite the Kosovo Serbs to engage in any anti-government activities, they cannot threaten Kosovo’s independence in any meaningful way. Although Vucic will not admit it, he knows all too well that he cannot now or at any time in the future seize the Serb-majority areas of Kosovo.
Fourth, it is quite puzzling that for a Prime Minister who is passionate about integrating Kosovo into the EU, he is alienating the very Union he wants to join, while failing to take all the necessary measures to respond to social -economic, political and democratic standards. From the day he rose to power, Kurti had to invest most of his time, resources and political influence to drastically improve the standard of living and quality of life of every ordinary citizen of Kosovo.
He had to focus on much of what he promised to do if elected. This includes economic development, attracting local and foreign investment to provide job opportunities and preventing the “brain drain” that affects every industry and undermines the social fabric of Kosovo.
Kurti also promised to improve the education system by building new schools, increasing teacher pay and creating easy access to textbooks; modernizing much of the crumbling infrastructure; providing better and more affordable healthcare; improvement of housing conditions; and of course, eliminating corruption. He should focus his attention on these areas.
Fifth, even though Vučić does not want to alienate Russia for the aforementioned reasons, Vučić still wants Serbia to integrate into the EU. He knows that Serbia’s future prosperity and growth depends on the EU, and to achieve this, he will have to meet EU standards by fully respecting democratic principles and human rights and improving the country’s socio-economic conditions. But recognition of Kosovo’s independence remains a key condition for Serbia’s EU membership.
Since the EU has a vested interest in accepting the Balkan states into the EU and preventing Russia from establishing a strong foothold in any of the Balkan states, the EU must create a favorable atmosphere to achieve this goal. For this reason, the EU wants to create a level playing field that will allow Serbia to distance itself from Russia while gaining some ground towards EU integration.
But for this to happen, Kosovo must also play its part. That is, the less Kurti repels Belgrade and the more cooperative he becomes with Serbia, the more he puts Vucic on the defensive. This is by no means an appeasement of Serbia at the expense of Kosovo, because ultimately both countries must resolve their conflict if they aspire to EU membership.
I believe Kurti may have what it takes to change course and focus on what people crave. They want jobs, they want opportunities, they want to grow and prosper, they want to feel safe and protected, they want to be free to express themselves without harm and they want to be heard. It’s a wake-up call, and Kurty better heed it before it’s too late.
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2023-09-08 18:01:52
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