Three months before the end of the mandate as EU Special Representative for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the continuation of Miroslav Lajçak’s mandate has been questioned.
The lack of progress in the dialogue during Lajcak’s two years of mediation and his personal ambitions are being considered among the reasons for change. However, the European Union has not responded to such allegations. Connoisseurs of the dialogue developments, on the other hand, urge the EU to redefine its role in this process, regardless of whether or not the facilitator of the dialogue changes.
Violeta Haxholli from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo (KDI), says for KosovaPress, that the lack of progress in the dialogue was not only the fault of Lajçak, as there was no will from the parties for an agreement.
“Mr. Lajcak has had a uniform role in the dialogue process. He has tried to bring the parties closer in their positions on specific agreements. It is not that he has made much progress, but it is not that it was his fault, as much as there was a lack of will of the parties, Kosovo and Serbia, to reach certain agreements. Then there were numerous electoral processes during Lajçak’s mandate, change of governments in Kosovo and so on,” says Haxholli.
Persistent in extending Lajçak’s mandate is analyst Gazmir Raci, who tells KosovaPress that Lajçak is a career diplomat and an influential person in the policies of the EU and Slovakia.
According to him, with the support of the United States, Germany, France and Great Britain, Lajcak can push the dialogue process forward.
“Mr. Lajcak is a career diplomat from Slovakia and an influential person, he also has influence in EU policy, he has strong connections and contacts with representatives of the American government. His mandate should be extended again because he is a person who has great influence and comes from a country that has not recognized Kosovo, and in case of a final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, I expect Slovakia to be among the first to recognize the independence of Kosovo. Of course, he can not postpone the process alone, without the help of the United States, Germany, France and also Great Britain,” says Raci.
Despite possible changes in the dialogue mediation process, Violeta Haxholli from KDI, says that the EU should be more demanding and guaranteeing the final agreement with mutual recognition.
“We are still not informed that there are plans for him to be replaced by another representative. I believe that in this regard, the EU should in general, depending on what representative will serve as a facilitator of the dialogue process, the EU has the opportunity to condition more Kosovo and Serbia to commit to the dialogue process and achieve an agreement. In this regard, it can condition Serbia now that it has opened chapters with the EU, to insist on implementing the agreements reached and be more constructive in the dialogue process in general. Regardless of whether or not the person who will facilitate the dialogue changes, I believe that the EU will redefine its role in this process by being more demanding and guaranteeing the agreements reached, and more demanding towards the parties to be more committed to this process “, she adds.
Miroslav Lajçak took office on April 4, 2020, initially for a 1 year term, then last year his term was extended until August 31, 2022.
