Veton Surroi, a leading publicist in Kosovo and an external advisor to the Kosovo government, has argued for the reshuffling of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue in an interview with Albanian journalist Ilva Tare’s Balkan Debrief talk show for the Atlantic Council.
Surroi is also one of the few public voices to vouch for Kosovo’s participation in the Open Balkan – the regional initiative pushed forward by Serbian and Albanian leaders, Aleksandar Vucic and Edi Rama.
In the interview, he argued that the over 11 years of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has brought little noteworthy progress while getting a lot of diplomatic energy from all actors involved to solve irrelevant small issues.
“Unfortunately, the negotiating process has gone into micro management, not just now but for years. And so the real challenge is how do we emerge into a serious, advanced negotiating process, in which both parties actually deal with their grievances,” Surroi stressed.
He added that the “unfinished conflict” between the two countries could only end when they agree to have the same relationship EU member countries have with each other, based on a shared economic area. For this, according to Surroi, in their dialogue Kosovo and Serbia must deal with the most relevant issues for each party.
“Maybe the issue is that the dialogue is insufficient, and so we need to turn the volume up on dialogue. We need to have a more enhanced process of negotiations. And I think, it’s not about changing partners or mediators. It’s about changing the rhythm and putting a more serious context of negotiations,” he said.
Responding to those comparing Kosovo with Ukraine, Surroi argued that “the question of Kosovo and Serbia is not difficult to resolve” and that “Serbia needs to address the crux of the issue, which is not how to escape from reality – the reality being that Kosovo is an independent state.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, if anything, should accelerate the dialogue between the two countries and their advancement in the EU integration process so as to provide for security in the Western Balkans.
Speaking of the Common Regional Market initiative under the Berlin Process and the Open Balkan initiative that parallels it, Surroi said Kosovo should participate in all regional initiatives that brings countries closer.
Asked by Ilva Tare whether this meant that vis-s-vis Serbia, Kosovo shouldn’t ask for recognition first but instead engage in agreements, Surroi said: “I think the idea of a common regional market implies that the parties will be equal within that process, and the tests will be simple, measurable,” adding that Serbia would be tested whether it would allow Kosovo citizens to travel using their IDs only.
“I think we should be participating, as full members or observers, expressing our opinions in any reasonable initiative that there is here in the Western Balkans,” Surroi noted.
Ilva Tare, is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington. She is now hosting Balkans Debrief, a new talk show presented by the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center.
Balkans Debrief features in-depth analysis and exclusive insights with policymakers and key players on subjects impacting more than 18 million people.
