The distinguished Professor of European and International Political Science at the “Science Po” in Paris, Christian Lequesne, in an exclusive interview for KosovaPress News Agency stated that the dialogue will not succeed if Kurti and Vucic remain in strict nationalist positions. The dialogue, which is expected to resume in mid-June, is vital if the two countries want to move forward. Professor Lequesne does not think that the success of the dialogue would automatically lead to the granting of candidate status for Kosovo, but he is confident that without dialogue no progress towards this goal will be made. He also does not see the possibility of granting the status of candidate for Kosovo if there is no movement of the five European Union countries which do not recognize Kosovo’s independence. Professor Lequesne also talks about visa liberalization for Kosovars and his country’s skeptical stance on the issue.
Kosovapress: The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has been announced to re-start these weeks, while the European Union has also regained its leading role in this process. As an expert on EU foreign policy, do you think that the EU has the potential to be a leader and give direction to this process?
Professor Lequesne: Yes, I think so. The EU already plaid an crucial role in the normalization agreement of 2013 (the Brussels Agreement). Of course, the other important important actor is the USA, seeing its role as a protector of Kosovo. With Biden, the relationships between the EU and the US have improved on foreign policy issues. We can imagine that they will not have problem to coordinate and cooperate on the Kosovo/Serbia Dialogue.
Kosovapress: The European Union’s Envoy for Dialogue, Mr. Lajcak, made a tempting statement about Kosovo, promising that in the event of success in the negotiation process, Kosovo would receive EU candidate status. As an expert on EU enlargement policies, do you see this only as a tempting promise or can it really happen?
Professor Lequesne: – There is nothing automatic as the EU candidate status shall be approved at unanimity by the EU member states. Nobody can say yet if every member state will say yes. But what is sure is that without a Dialogue, the progress towards candidate status is impossible. The problem is that the Dialogue depends on both sides. I am not sure Belgrade, which has opened negotiations, is so interesting that Pristina accedes to the same treatment.
Kosovapress: Promising signals for Kosovo from the European leadership, are a related to the doubts that the new Kosovar leadership will be more difficult as a negotiating party as it has warned of greater vigilance in relation to dialogue?
Professor Lequesne: It is the responsibility of Prime Minister Kurti and his cabinet to know if they want a Dialogue or not. I understand that they do not want a Dialogue under any condition. I understand the wish of the Kosovar government to have first negotiations with the Serbian minority. But at a certain point, the agreement is only possible if there is a flexibility in Pristina and in Belgrade. If Kurti and Vucic stay on strict nationalist positions, the Dialogue will not succeed.
Kosovapress: Consequently, does the European Union have to request the five member states that have refused to recognize Kosovo’s independence to do so?
Professor Lequesne: Frankly, I do not see how the acceptance of the status of candidate country is possible if there is not a move from the five. As you know, these EU member states refuse to recognize the independence of Kosovo mostly for domestic reasons, in particular not giving ideas of emancipation to their own national minorities for three of them: Catalans in Spain, Hungarians in Slovakia and Romania. If the big EU member states (especially France and Germany) want a move, this question will be of course a intra-EU negotiation.
Kosovapress: In last year’s interview, you told me that the EU would never accept Kosovo and Serbia as members without recognizing each other’s sovereignty. In your view, is this the main goal of the European Union, to make a final solution to the problem between these two countries?
Professor Lequesne: It is not the main goal in the short term, because several EU member states do not want to rush on enlargement, for reasons that have mostly to do with the reluctance of their public opinions. In my country France, enlargement is not seen by the public as a priority at all. But one thing is sure: the EU cannot accept new member states which do not recognize each other. It is a basic condition.
Kosovapress: How do you personally see the epilogue and when can there be an epilogue?
Professor Lequesne: I don’t thing the epilogue is for tomorrow. The EU has many domestic reforms to solve before considering a future enlargement. So, it will take time. However, the EU waiting strategy is not without risk. If you promise without delivering, you create a lot of frustration. You also create spaces for competitors. In the case of West Balkans, it is clear that the influence of Russia, China and Turkey benefit from the EU delay. My concern is that these countries can provide economic assistance but are not interested at all in democratization.
Kosovapress: Recently, there are positive signals from the euro MP’s, but also from the governments of the European Union countries, in this case from the German Government about visa liberalization for Kosovars. While France has not yet given positive signals and the perception here in Kosovo is that France remains a blocking state of visa liberalization for Kosovars. Is this true
Professor Lequesne: As in every EU member state, you have in France a strong debate on migration. Accepting new visa liberalization requires to take this domestic constraint into consideration. On the other hand, I understand that Kosovars are going more to other EU member states than France, especially Germany and Austria. There is also Switzerland which is a EU member state. So concretely, visa liberalization could have limited effects on France. But probably France wants first to observe how the Dialogue evolves before accepting the liberalization. In this case, it is diplomatic reflex.
Kosovapress: In your opinion, when can there be visa liberalization for Kosovars and when can Kosovo get the status of a candidate country?
Professor Lequesne: Sorry but I am not reading in a crystal ball. It is impossible for me to give you a date. But what I am sure is that the key condition of the progress is the Dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. If this Dialogue does not move forward, nothing will change.
Christian Lequesne is a distinguished professor of European and International Politics, “Sciences Po”, Paris, France
