Serbia, the EU and Kosovo: time to swallow frogs
ZELJKO PANTELIC
08.09.2010 @ 12:26 CET
Zoran Djindjic, the charismatic Serbian prime minister assassinated in 2003,
liked to quote the American Indian proverb: "If you have to swallow a frog
don't look at it too much, just swallow. And if you have to swallow a few
frogs, swallow the biggest one first." Time has proven Mr Djindjic right, and
he was probably Serbia's only top politician who dared confront the problems
that others tried to avoid.
Tadic had dinner with Ashton on Tuesday, with talks on the UN resolution
continuing on Wednesday (Photo: European Commission)
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For years, Serbia's political leadership ducked the Kosovo question and the
evolving reality around it. Instead, they hid behind international law and the
principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty. In the meantime, Kosovo
declared independence in 2008 and the International Court of Justice said that
the declaration did not violate international law.
The time to swallow some frogs has come. Belgrade is ready to accept the EU as
the key actor orchestrating dialogue with Kosovo. And it is ready to accept EU
corrections of Serbia's proposal for a UN General Assembly resolution on
Kosovo.
According to EU proposals, the Kosovo dialogue should deal with "non-resolved
issues" - a clever diplomatic formula accomodating countries that have
recognised Kosovo and consider the issue "resolved" as well as the five EU
governments which have so far refused to recognise it.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, in a statement issued late on
Wednesday, announced both sides had reached agreement on a joint draft
resolution to be put before the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday.
"This draft resolution will now be a resolution put forward by 28 European
countries. All 27 EU member states and Serbia will be co-sponsoring this draft
resolution", she said.
Following months of deteriorating relationship with major EU players and strong
language on Kosovo, Belgrade has decided to change tack.
Ivan Vejvoda, the executive director of the German Marshal Fund's Balkan Trust
for Democracy, has called it a return of Mr Tadic's former political
strategies.
"In the last months, we have witnessed Serbia's position moving to a more
pragmatic approach. A return to the position that European integration is
Serbia's first priority. It has become clear that the politics of confrontation
with the EU and the most influential Western countries are harmful for Serbia,
for the region and in the long run also for the EU," Mr Vejvoda, who has good
connections with the Serbian leadership, said.
Newspapers close to the government have also begun quoting government sources
as saying it would be harmful for Serbia to enter into open confrontation with
the EU on Kosovo.
"Different factors have influenced Serbia's new approach in the communication
with the EU and its most important countries," Mr Vejvoda added. "Of course the
most important is the world financial crisis which showed how strongly the
Serbian economy is linked to developments in the EU. The second reason is that
Belgrade understood that the best way to defend its own interests and those of
Kosovo Serbs is to be co-operative with the EU and open a dialogue about the
so-called non resolved issues. Also, Serbian public opinion has changed in the
last two years, and Serbian citizens understand better the Kosovo problem.
Public remarks by Tomislav Nikolic [the leader of Serbia's biggest opposition
party, the SNS] have relaxed the atmosphere and showed that all key players are
perfectly aware that the Kosovo issue could be resolved only peacefully."
An senior EU diplomat told WAZ.EUobserver that President Tadic realised three
years ago that elections in Serbia cannot be won by simply defending Kosovo but
that, at the same time, they may well be lost by underestimating the Kosovo
question. "That is why he used the winning slogan 'Kosovo and Europe'," The
diplomat said.
"Apparently, President Tadic understood in the last months that for his
government the very bad social and economic situation is more dangerous than
the Kosovo problem. The living standard of Serbian citizens can only be
improved if new investments come to Serbia - and almost all potential investors
come from countries recognising Kosovo. So the political confrontation with
those countries leads not just to political but also to serious economic
consequences."
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