Prime Minister Mark Rutte is in the Western Balkans with his Luxembourg colleague to improve relations between Serbia and Kosovo. The crowbar is EU membership. “They really need to bury that hatchet, otherwise nothing will happen in terms of rapprochement with the EU,” says political analyst and Balkan expert Reinier Jaarsma.
The Serbian-Kosovar conflict in a nutshell: the population of northern Kosovo is predominantly Serb and wants to join Serbia. Kosovo, of which the ethnic majority is Albanian, wanted to force the population to put a Kosovar license plate on the car, the Kosovo Serbs stuck to their Serbian license plates and left the North Kosovo administration.
The Kosovar government then called municipal elections, which were boycotted by the Serbs and resulted in the election of four Albanian mayors. When they wanted to take up their duties, the population of North Kosovo rebelled and 40 NATO soldiers (who maintain order there, ed) were wounded.
Thrilling
The EU has called for a de-escalation, Prime Minister Rutte is now in his capacity as oil tankers of both countries to normalize relations. According to Jaarsma, tension in the region has eased somewhat, but there are still protests in the north. “It is still impossible for those Albanian mayors to do their job there. New elections have now been announced, but the situation remains very exciting.”
The reason exactly why Rutte is on that Balkan mission is because, according to Jaarsma, he is “good” with all sides. “He often takes the floor at the European Council when it comes to the Western Balkans”. According to Jaarsma, both prime ministers will try to force a breakthrough in the stalled Kosovar-Serb negotiations.
“Mark Rutte is good at all parties”
In his press conference yesterday, Rutte made it clear in no uncertain terms that a solution to the issue must be found before further negotiations for accession to the European Union, which both countries strongly aspire to, can take place. “They really have to bury that hatchet, otherwise (…) nothing will happen in terms of rapprochement with the EU.”
Focus
Rutte did not comment further on the second hot topic: Serbia’s simultaneous flirtation with both Moscow and the EU. Serbia wants to sit on two chairs, says Jaarsma, and Europe has great difficulty in doing so. Serbia also does not support European sanctions against Russia. The fact that this topic is not discussed is proof for Jaarsma that the focus is entirely on solving the northern Kosovo problem.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
