The EU’s Dubious Criteria on Kosovo Leaves Serbia Room for Speculation

Opinions |Author: Vasil Stefanov | January 21, 2014, Tuesday // 16:10|  views

It has been just hours since Serbia officially opened its EU accession negotiations, and we have already heard a controversial statement.

Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dacic stated that EU negotiations are "not a matter linked to the status of Kosovo". If he's right, then I've totally missed the point over the past year.

They are very much a matter linked to Kosovo's status, and when the EU specified "normalization of relations with Kosovo" as a key requirement for Serbia's membership, I believe that is exactly what they meant.

Now, Dacic's comment could very well be part of a publicity stunt – an attempt to pamper with the harsh nationalist critics and Euro-skeptics back home. Belgrade's tactics seem to be geared towards a gradual acceptance of Kosovo, by taking a step back for every two forward.

Clearly, the issue will make headlines throughout the upcoming years of EU negotiations, and Brussels will closely monitor the progress.

The EU, however, needs to make it clear what exactly it means under "normalization of relations with Kosovo". It cannot afford to be labeled as indecisive, which it is already accused of over various other issues.

In the meantime, the topic is open for political speculation.

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Tags: Serbia, EU accession, EU negotiations, kosovo, Ivica Dacic, Brussels

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