Kosovo 18 years later, between the dream of the EU and tensions with Belgrade | EUROtoday

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Eighteen years have handed since February 17, 2008 when Kosovo adopted its declaration of independence from Serbia. And after virtually a 12 months of political stalemate, the small Balkan nation lastly arrives on its anniversary with a steady authorities and majority. Five days in the past the Pristina Parliament, which emerged from the elections final December 28, permitted a brand new authorities led by Albin Kurti and his left-wing nationalist social gathering Vetëvendosje (Self-Determination) with 66 votes in favor and 49 towards. The early elections on December 28 had been referred to as after Kurti’s social gathering, regardless of its electoral victory in February 2025, didn’t type a authorities.

However, eighteen years of separation from Serbia and a steady authorities will not be sufficient to pave the best way for the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. A former political prisoner throughout Serbian rule in Kosovo, Kurti has at all times taken a troublesome stance in talks with the Serbian authorities. It was with him in authorities, in 2023, that Albanian mayors had been put in within the 4 municipalities of northern Kosovo regardless of the opposition of the Serbian majority of the inhabitants. A transfer, in contempt of minorities, which price Kosovo a sequence of sanctions from the EU, together with the freezing of the 882 million euros of funds allotted below the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

Belgrade, for its half, has by no means needed to acknowledge the independence of its southernmost province with an Albanian majority, whose authorities in official paperwork remains to be referred to as the “provisional institutions of self-government of Pristina”. Just final weekend, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, on the Munich Security Conference, denounced the nascent navy alliance between Croatia, Albania and Kosovo, calling it “the biggest threat for Serbia today.” Vucic additionally maintains that if peace between Russia and Ukraine ends with the cession of territories by Kiev, then Serbia will have the ability to demand the cession of North Kosovo from Pristina.

Today 1.6 million Kosovars know properly that a lot of their future will depend on becoming a member of the European Union. Kosovo’s membership software, introduced in 2022, has in actual fact by no means been assessed. Some say that it might be revived within the second half of 2026, below the Irish presidency of the EU. However, the 5 members of the Union that also don’t acknowledge Kosovo as a state, on a par with Serbia, Russia and China, weigh closely on Pristina’s probabilities of entry: Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia.

The excellent news is that at the very least the sanctions determined by the EU in 2023 are over. Last December 16, the European Commission introduced its revocation after new common administrative elections had been held within the Serb-majority municipalities of the North. For Kosovo, it is a breath of economic contemporary air: the primary 216 million euros of European support have already been launched and one other 205 million ought to be made accessible shortly. For an actual leap in high quality in relations with the EU, nonetheless, Brussels is asking Pristina to alter its coverage in the direction of Serbia and implement all of the agreements made with Belgrade. A transition that’s something however easy, as defined by Peter Sørensen, the Special Representative of the European Union for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, whose appointment occurred only a 12 months in the past: «I’ve arrived at a delicate political section in each Belgrade and Pristina. In this context, neither facet appeared to have sturdy incentives to take the political dangers that any compromise entails. As a outcome, facilitating a top-level assembly between the 2 was unrealistic. For this motive, a high-level dialogue assembly has not but been held throughout my mandate.” However, his work did not stop: «Despite political constraints, progress was made – recalls Sørensen – the Joint Commission on Missing Persons was inaugurated and work on integrated border management continued. In short, despite electoral cycles and political uncertainties, we have preserved the communication channels. The European future of both Serbia and Kosovo is directly linked to measurable progress in this normalization process.”