The separate meetings that the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, held in New York with Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić have brought the normalization dialogue back to the center of international attention. In these meetings, Kallas conveyed the message that progress in normalizing relations must go hand in hand with the path toward the EU, calling for the implementation of the agreements reached, including the Ohrid Agreement.
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However, Austrian expert Günther Fehlinger, in a statement to “Bota sot,” addressed the head of European diplomacy with a completely different message. He argues that the current format of the dialogue has failed and should be buried, describing it as part of the waste of failed European diplomacy. Fehlinger says he agrees with the call to move forward, but not through a new attempt to revive a process that for more than ten years has brought no solution for Kosovo.
According to the expert, Europe must give up the illusion that another meeting, communiqué or photograph of Kurti with Vučić will solve the fundamental problem. The dialogue itself has become part of the problem, because it has created the impression that Kosovo’s European future depends on Serbia’s consent. “Kosovo is not a Serbian province waiting for Belgrade’s permission to enter Europe. Kosovo is an independent European republic with its own democratic institutions. It has applied for EU membership, uses the euro and NATO’s KFOR has protected peace and security since 1999,” Fehlinger underlined.
For Fehlinger, the strategic objective is absolutely clear: Kosovo must be integrated into NATO and the European Union, anchored permanently in the Euro-Atlantic West. Neither of these should depend on whether Aleksandar Vučić says “yes.” By constantly treating Kosovo and Serbia as a single political package, Brussels has effectively given Belgrade influence over Kosovo’s fate, which the expert categorically rejects. “There must be no Serbian veto over Kosovo,” he stressed.
Referring to the 2023 normalization agreement, Fehlinger recalls that Serbia pledged not to oppose Kosovo’s membership in international organizations and that neither side would block the other’s path toward Europe. “Therefore, I ask Brussels a very simple question: what are we still negotiating? If these commitments have been made, implement them. Stop renegotiating Kosovo’s existence and its right to international integration. The EU has the agreements – what it lacks is the political courage to implement them,” he said.
Another reality that Brussels must not overlook, according to Fehlinger, is the armed attack in Banjska. He stresses that this was not a minor border incident that can be archived and forgotten. The European Union itself has demanded accountability and criticized Serbia’s insufficient cooperation in the investigation and criminal prosecution of those responsible. “Europe cannot simply return to normal and tell Kosovo that another round of dialogue will solve everything. Accountability must come first. Security must come first. Kosovo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must come first,” the Austrian expert declared.
Fehlinger also criticized Brussels’ approach to Serbia’s strategic orientation. He pointed out that Belgrade seeks the benefits of EU candidate status while refusing to fully align with European foreign policy against Russia and maintaining close ties with Moscow. “You cannot claim to be traveling toward Brussels while constantly looking toward Moscow. Serbia must decide where it belongs. And Europe must finally stop rewarding strategic ambiguity,” he warned. As for confronting the past, Fehlinger drew attention to the case of Ratko Mladić, who died while serving a life sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity. The controversies surrounding the tributes and his funeral, according to him, should have been another warning for Europe, because the glorification or rehabilitation
