BERLIN: European leaders will try to bring bitter foes Serbia and Kosovo back to the negotiating table at a regional summit in Berlin on Monday, hoping to reboot a dialogue over one of the Balkans’ thorniest disputes.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are hosting the neighbours, whose relationship has taken a turn for the worse in recent months, alongside other Western Balkans leaders and those of EU members Croatia and Slovenia.
The Berlin gathering will centre on the “stability of the region, with a particular focus on finding a way to relaunch the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo,” the French presidency said in a briefing ahead of the summit.
The Macron-Merkel initiative comes after EU-led talks between Serbia and Kosovo ground to a halt last year.
The nub of the dispute is Belgrade’s denial of the independence of Kosovo, a former province of deep historical and cultural significance to Serbians that broke away in a bloody 1998-1999 war.
The Brussels-led dialogue collapsed several months after talk of possible border changes between the neighbours triggered a stinging backlash last summer.
Critics warned that redrawing the map would be a risky business in the fragile Balkans, a region still recovering from its 1990s wars.
‘RISKS FOR THE REGION’
Then came a series of diplomatic clashes between Pristina and Belgrade that deepened their hostility, in particular Kosovo’s decision in November to levy a 100-per cent tariff on Serbian goods.
A stalemate ensued. Kosovo’s Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj says he will keep the tax until Belgrade shows openness to recognising independence, while Serbia says it will not talk until the tariff is removed.
The normalisation of ties with Kosovo and harmonisation of its diplomacy with that of the EU are among key criteria Serbia has to meet to join the bloc.
Playing down expectations for a major breakthrough on Monday, German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said the summit is “primarily about an exchange of views”.
“How far we can get during the meeting is something that I cannot foretell.” The French presidency also stated the summit was only to “promote exchanges” and not an effort to replace the European Commission-led process, whose future is uncertain as EU elections loom in May.
As for whether the land-swap proposal would be discussed Monday, Demmer said Germany remains “sceptical about border changes as part of a solution, in so far as they could pose risks for the region”.
While the exact details of the plan have never been laid out, local media and analysts assume the land swap would see Kosovo’s Serb-dominated north traded for a southern valley in Serbia that is mainly ethnic-Albanian, as is the rest of Kosovo.
‘IMPORT INSTABILITY’
The United States and some EU officials appeared open to discussing such a deal. But Germany has been one of the clearest critics of any border changes, which many worry would further segregate the region along ethnic lines.
European Union enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn, who oversees bids to join the bloc, said binding Balkan countries closer to the EU was key to keeping the peace.
— AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
