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Where did Kosovo go wrong that lost the chance for KiE?

2024-05-21 17:29:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

DW: Kosovo was not on the agenda of the Council of Europe (CoE), although the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE recommended Kosovo's membership with 82 percent. Where lies the error?

Konrad Clewing: Kosovo made many mistakes. First, it was based on the fact that Kosovo's western partners, looking at Serbian politics, would pave the way for membership in the Council of Europe. He mistakenly thought that the big three EU powers would help at the last minute.

Second, the current and previous governments did not develop a plan for the Association of Municipalities after the Constitutional Court's decision in 2015. To think that this issue will resolve itself is naive and a big political mistake. This gave Western actors – from Laj?ak to leaders in Berlin, Paris and Rome – room to intervene. The precondition to submit Laj?ak's plan without further negotiations with and in Kosovo to the Constitutional Court was an intervention that deserves criticism. The three leaders' letter to Kurt on May 15 was also very harsh. However: If the government had acted earlier, this could have been avoided.

Third, last week's actions by the Foreign Ministry came too late and without much substance. It is incomprehensible how it could be believed that at the last minute Germany, France or Italy and the whole QUINT would change their minds and accept a still unfinished plan like that of the FES Foundation.

Where did Kosovo go wrong that lost the chance for KiE?

Who should be held responsible?

The Constitution of Kosovo states: the president leads the country's foreign policy; the government proposes and implements the country's foreign policy; the assembly oversees foreign and security policy. It is a bad sign that the president, according to her statement, was not consulted about the important step of the foreign minister. It is also a bad sign that the ruling majority in parliament has little international expertise. But it is clear: The main responsibility for the lack of preparation of a plan for the Association of Municipalities and for the poor presentation of positions to the partners lies with the government. So, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister. If external advisors contributed, it can be said that they did not do a good job. But the main responsibility for the poor result lies with the government.

Former US President Donald Trump's ex-charger for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Richard Grenell, especially thanked Meloni in a post on X for the letter that the heads of government sent to Kurti. How do you comment?

I do not want to comment on the motives of Mr. Grenell. But the question makes us think about how dangerous it is for European governments and those of small countries not to worry about the turbulence and unpredictability that a possible Trump victory in the fall could bring to international relations.

Kurti is considering the possibility of early elections. What can his camp gain from this step?

If Prime Minister Kurti resolutely pursues this goal, he reckons he and his party can win voter support for successes, particularly in weakening Serbian institutions in the north of the country and on issues like currency across the country. Domestically, the government has few successes – in the fight against corruption, economic development and improving daily living conditions, the performance is poor. In foreign policy, he may speculate that Western partners will moderate their criticism if he is re-elected and remains the main partner in Kosovo. It is likely that the Western partners will hope for new elections to find a more suitable partner. The current government has caused much anger among allies with its undiplomatic approach.

Dr. Konrad Clewing studied history and economics in Munich, where he also learned Albanian from Martin Camaj, in Vienna and Zagreb. He works as a researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Eastern and Southeastern Europe in Regensburg./ DW