The implementation of past agreements remains a major issue ahead of a new phase in EU-brokered talks. Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, has called for a resumption of talks to normalise relations between Kosovo and Serbia on 9 February, following a six-month hiatus caused by the protracted formation of a Kosovar government.
Though bilateral in nature, the talks have enabled both countries to drive ahead towards membership of the EU, despite Serbia’s continued refusal to recognise Kosovo as a state.
Mogherini has also indicated that she intends to maintain the level of engagement shown by her predecessor, Catherine Ashton, who chaired 23 meetings between Kosovar and Serb leaders and brokered a landmark agreement in April 2013.
In a report published in October by the Central European Policy Institute, a Bratislava-based think-tank, local analysts argued that Mogherini will need act as a “strong mediator”, to impose “strong conditionality” and to ensure “clarity” in agreements if the talks are to resolve the many practical problems created by the disputes between Serbia and Kosovo.
The ‘dialogue’ – as the process is known – is likely once more to involve the prime ministers and foreign ministers, a format that would ensure both continuity and the participation of the largest parliamentary parties in both countries. If so, the only newcomer other than Mogherini would be Isa Mustafa, Kosovo’s new prime minister.
