By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
BRUSSELS, Belgium – After lengthy negotiations and the apparent breakdown of talks, Serbia and Kosovo approved a normalization agreement earlier this week, which many hope will help ease tensions along their shared boarder.
Last Friday, April 19, Serbia and Kosovo signed the European Union- brokered, 15 point First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations, under which ethnic Serbs in the northern region of Kosovo will elect a regional police commander and ensure that a majority of court judges are Serbs, but, the police and courts will be integrated into the Kosovo police and justice system. In exchange for managerial control of the Northern region of Kosovo, the ethnic Serbs living there will recognize the authority of the Kosovo government. The agreement also prevents both Serbia and Kosovo from obstructing one another as they seek eventual membership in the E.U.
Kosovo’s parliament, in Pristina, approved the tentative deal with Serbia in a vote on Sunday. Serbia followed with a unanimous decision from its parliament, in Belgrade, also approving the deal on Monday, along with orders for Serbian ministries to begin implementation.
Although almost 100 countries, including the United States and 22 of the 27 members of the E.U., have recognized Kosovo, Serbia has not. Kosovo, whose citizens are primarily ethnically Albanian, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, following nine years of U.N. administration backed by a NATO-led peacekeeping force, after Serbian forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999. However, sporadic violence persisted in Kosovo, particularly in regions of high ethnic tensions. Serbia has vowed never to recognize Kosovo, and insists the E.U.-brokered deal approved this week is not a formal recognition of Kosovar statehood.
Following Serbia’s parliament’s approval of the agreement, protests against the deal erupted in Belgrade. Several thousand flag-waving Serbs, chanting “Treason, Treason”, gathered in Belgrade shortly after the approval. As many as ten-thousand more pro-Serbia protesters appeared on the streets of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, unsatisfied with the deal.
Coming to terms with Kosovo (12% of Serbia’s former size) as a separate entity from Serbia is culturally difficult for many Serbians. The province Kosovo, in the middle ages, was the center of the former Serbian Empire, and many Serbs consider it the birthplace of their nation.
However, normalization with Kosovo, in addition to easing tensions in the region, will have an additional benefit for Serbia with respect to its relationship with the E.U. Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic earlier said that “if the government accepts the agreement, I expect Serbia to get a date to start membership talks with the European Union”.
Before the deal was even been finalized, the E.U. began recommending opening membership talks with Serbia Furthermore, the E.U. also signaled the go-ahead for Kosovo to begin association agreement talks.
Of Serbia, a European Commission report [pdf] stated that Belgrade “has taken very significant steps and [made a] sustainable improvement in relations with Kosovo.” Therefore, the Commission “recommends that negotiations for accession to the European Union should be opened with Serbia.”
Of Kosovo, the Commission also stated in a separate report [pdf] that Pristina had met all its “short-term priorities,” and recommended member states authorize “the open[ing] of negotiations on a stabilization and association agreement” with the E.U. The Commission also proposed allowing Kosovo to participate in 22 EU programs.
E.U. Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele described the agreement and move towards E.U. membership as a significant shift for the entire region. “[It is] a historic day,” he told reporters. “It is also a game changer, it is a game changer for Serbia and Kosovo. It is a game changer for the whole region of the Western Balkans.”
The E.U.’s foreign policy chief Baroness Catherine Ashton, who mediated the talks, described her hoped for full implementation. “I am very hopeful that with the determination we have seen, they will move to implement all of the elements of this agreement. I will support them in any way that I can and I have already offered to help and to participate in not only implementation, but if they continue their dialogue I am at their disposal. It has been a real privilege to help them.”
In an attempt to extend another olive branch, Serbia president Tomislav Nikolic also formally apologized earlier today, April 25, for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys. However, he stopped short of recognizing the massacre as genocide, as it has been declared by two international courts. “I kneel and ask for forgiveness for Serbia for the crime committed in Srebrenica,” Nikolic declared during an interview to be aired on Bosnian national television. “I apologi[z]e for the crimes committed by any individual in the name of our state and our people.”
Normalization between Serbia and Kosovo represent a huge step in healing the wounds left by the conflicts in the 1990s, however both countries will have to make a continuing effort to advance human rights. “The normalization agreement between Belgrade and Pristina is a positive step toward peace and reconciliation in the region,” said Lydia Gall, Eastern Europe and Balkans researcher at Human Rights Watch. “With commitment from both governments and support from their EU partners, it could help improve human rights for everyone in Kosovo and Serbia.”
For further information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Serbia President ‘Apologises’ for Massacre – 25 April 2013
HRW – Serbia/Kosovo: Landmark Opportunity for Human Rights – 23 April 2013
Al Jazeera – Serbians Protest Kosovo Deal – 22 April 2013
BBC News – EU Commission: ‘Start Serbia Membership Talks’ – 22 April 2013
The Independent – Serbia Deal Ends Conflict with Kosovo – 22 April 2013
RFE/RL – European Commission Recommends Opening Accession Talks With Serbia – 22 April 2013
