The Brussels Based correspondent of this daily, Augustin Palokaj, numbers the senior political figures of Kosovo, their assistants and the technical teams that are involved in the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, stressing that their frequent traveling to Brussels costs a fortune to Kosovo. “The problem with this dialogue stands in the fact that it has started with many obscurities and propaganda, without verifying mechanisms of what should implement, and it will continue like this without a set date for its conclusion,” writes Palokaj.
He further notes that nothing has changed in the positions during the last more than four years of the dialogue. “Kosovo is an independent state, but it does not have control throughout its entire territory. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo state and it has territorial aspirations towards it, they are also included in the Constitution of this country, while since the beginning of the dialogue, it has only increased its influence on the political and economic life of Kosovo. If these political problems did not exist, there would not be a need for dialogue to resolve technical issues,” he writes.
Palokaj expects not only disagreements during the dialogue but also different interpretations of the reached agreements. “This behavior of the three parties, including the European Union, has made the dialogue endless, and it is expected to last at least ten more years.”
He further notes that the dynamics of the dialogue has slowed down, that there are stagnations on implementation of the agreements and that the relations of the parties are far from normal. “The parties understand that they are very far from the EU integration, therefore it is not worth of making major concessions during the dialogue. Being that “complete” normalization of the relations between Kosovo and Serbia should be reached on the verge of Serbia’s membership at the EU, and that this membership is not very close, it is realistic for the dialogue to last for ten additional years,” concludes Palokaj.
