Kosovo

With a very large majority (220 for, 13 against and 1 abs.), Serbia’s Parliament has adopted a resolution on the preservation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. All international treaties signed by Serbia with the European Union, including the Stabilization and Association Agreement, will have to respect these principles. Serbia will break its diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes Kosovo’s statehood. The army “is ready to defend the citizens of Kosovo” reports the Balkan Post.

On the 10th December, the European Council met to discuss the Western Balkans; a meeting which brought together Foreign and/or European Affairs Ministers from across the EU. The Council reached the following conclusions regarding Kosovo, “important steps need to be taken in order to strengthen the status of legally constituted state, the fights against corruption and organized crime, as well as in order to improve dialogue between communities. The Council made clear that it is essential to continue with the effective implementation of norms in Kosovo, in particular with regards to the protection of minority groups and of sites of noted historical and religious importance. The resolution of the issue surrounding the status of Kosovo will facilitate the implementation of anticipated reforms. The European Union will continue to assume responsibilities within Kosovo”.   

There has been no miracle after these 120 days of negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade on the definition of a status in Kosovo. No agreement came out of these three last days of hectic negotiations in Baden near Vienna, Austria. No independence or even autonomy. No settlement on the status. Only remain the international protectorate and fears for the future.

Wolfgang Ischinger, European mediator of the American Russian European troika for finding a solution to the future status of Kosovo, proposes a ‘neutral status” for the talks that took place on November 20 in Brussels between Belgrade and Pristina. For once, Pristina and Belgrade agree: the two parties rejected the proposition right away, though for different reason, each one standing for his own conception of the Serbian province mainly inhabited with Albanians.

Agencies report that Wolfgang Ischinger, the EU mediator to the troika, made a new proposal to the Albanian and Serbian delegations concerning Kosovo's future status, inspired by the agreements between the two German states, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).