Kosovo: The Baron of the Balkans – 2024-02-23 13:13:37

Sixteen years after its declaration of independence, it is a crossroads of corruption, smuggling and drug trafficking

The issue of Kosovo remains an open wound for the Balkans and international balances in the wider region 16 years after its declaration of independence. Apart from the need to settle Kosovo’s final status, this long-suffering and troubled Balkan region has found itself at the center of drug trafficking as a transit country, which poses the biggest threat to its security.

Iniquity the reading

It is also characterized as the “Eldorado of the Balkans”, a crossroads for any illegal activity. Corruption, smuggling, drug trafficking, crime make up a large part of everyday life. In the areas where the Serbian population is a majority, it is alleged that absolute lawlessness prevails.

At the same time, the lack of regional cooperation, insufficient controls, high levels of unemployment, economic instability and low wages create strong incentives for corruption in the Balkans. In fact, a Europol report states that the involvement of citizens in drug smuggling is increased within the criminal groups active in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania.

The Balkan route has become increasingly popular for smugglers of cocaine from Latin America, but also of heroin from the world’s largest producing country, Afghanistan, and to a lesser extent Iran and Pakistan, across western Europe. Smaller quantities of heroin arrive from Latin America at the port of Durrës in Albania, which are then funneled through Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia to reach central Europe. They are transported to Greece, passing first through Kosovo and then through North Macedonia.

Authorities have argued that Belgrade-backed criminal gangs are responsible for the problems in the north of the country, which often escalate with road blockades and violent incidents. However, the Serbian government denies these claims and counters that Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, is trying to drive its Serb residents away from the north.

To understand the harsh reality in Kosovo, it is enough to look back at its bloody past. In 1999, the USA and NATO launched merciless bombings against the then Yugoslavia, calling it a “humanitarian intervention” to protect the Kosovars – of Albanian origin – from the nationalist persecutions of the Serbian regime of the then president Slobodan Milosevic. However, the operation not only did not eliminate but consolidated nationalist hatreds, while Kosovo came under the full control of NATO.

After the end of the conflicts, Western Europe pumped in billions of euros for the reconstruction of Kosovo. On February 17, 2008, the Parliament of Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia. As of September 4, 2020, the Republic of Kosovo had been recognized by more than 100 governments as an independent state, of which 24 have withdrawn. Greece and Cyprus are among the countries that have not recognized Kosovo as a sovereign international political entity, due to the implications such a move would have on the Cyprus issue.

Serbia’s reaction was immediate, as a resolution of its parliament declared independence illegal, while creating parallel state institutions in areas where the population of Serbian origin constituted the majority. The European Union in 2012 took the initiative for direct negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina in order to reduce the tension in the relations between the two national communities.

However, the war in Kosovo in 1998-99 marked the collapse of the Westphalian concept of non-intervention, i.e. mutual recognition of sovereignty, on the basis of which the newer international system of sovereign states was built. Furthermore, the 15-month war had left behind thousands of civilian dead on both sides and over 1 million displaced.

Uncertain future

All this portends an uncertain future for Kosovo, a region with a double negative role. Initially because of the dangers of the rise in crime. Characteristically, in 2020, 400 kg of cocaine were seized in Kosovo, which were transported to the port of Durres via the port of Calabria and then by truck to Kosovo. The value of the cocaine cargo amounted to 20 million euros.

In addition, the future is predicted to be uncertain due to the fact that it is a flash point in the Balkans, since the dispute over its control could be characterized as eternal. Although Kosovo is pushing for full independence and recognition, Serbia is not about to give up its nation’s “heart and soul” easily, as many medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monasteries are located there.

Also, despite its small size, it is capable of causing serious destabilization problems in the Balkans. The enmity between Serbs of northern Kosovo and their fellow Albanians still exists and is transmitted from generation to generation, an element that destabilizes the country’s social structures. In addition, the normalization of relations with Belgrade is deemed necessary for Serbia, against the background of its accession to the European Union.

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