Brussels dialogue absent from talks on forming Kosovo's institutions: Neither government nor opposition has it in focus

Although all Kosovo Albanian political parties are pro-European, none of them has publicly made the dialogue with Belgrade—one of the key benchmarks for Kosovo's progress toward European integration—a condition for participating in the formation of post-election institutions. According to interlocutors interviewed by Kosovo Online, the dialogue brings no political gains, which is why it has not featured in negotiations among Albanian parties. They also point out that the opposition is in a comfortable position that does not require it to articulate its views on the issue, as its primary concern at present is securing positions of power.

Written by: Dusica Radeka Đorđevic

The only party to publicly present concrete conditions for contributing to the quorum required to elect the President of Kosovo was the Alliance, which outlined a six-point platform. However, none of those points referred to the dialogue with Belgrade.

At the same time, the Alliance was the only party that did not participate in talks on government formation with caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

What the other two parties—the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK)—discussed with Kurti remains unknown, prompting political analyst Rahman Pacarizi to criticize the political actors.

"Citizens of Kosovo have the right to know what is being discussed behind closed doors. They are not conducting investigations or dealing with global politics that require secrecy from enemies. They are discussing how to provide services to the citizens of Kosovo," Pacarizi said.

Amid ongoing party disputes over the proper way to resolve the two-year political crisis, the European Union Special Representative for the Belgrade–Pristina Dialogue, Peter Sorensen, visited Kosovo two days ago. Political observers, however, are convinced that neither the dialogue nor the implementation of previously undertaken commitments plays a significant role when parties consider whether to join a future government or support the election of the president.

According to political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu, negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade are not discussed in talks among Albanian parties because the opposition has little interest in the process and is concerned solely with obtaining government positions rather than addressing issues crucial to Kosovo's future.

"The opposition is not particularly concerned with Kosovo's interests, even though the country's most important national interest is its relationship with Serbia and how those relations are managed. That should be the highest priority for both citizens and the political class in Kosovo, but it clearly is not. What concerns them is securing seats in power," Spahiu told Kosovo Online.

Spahiu also noted that Albin Kurti's government has spent nearly three years without submitting the EU-drafted statute of the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities (CSM) to the Constitutional Court for review. In his opinion, if opposition parties were in a position to decide on the matter, they would only do so if encouraged by the United States.

"If America tells them what to do, they will do it. If not, they do not know what to do," Spahiu said.

Appeasing Others and Political Rewards

Political scientist Ognjen Gogic believes the dialogue is absent from coalition negotiations because it offers no electoral advantage to any political party in Pristina.
According to him, no politician in Kosovo gains votes by advocating a more conciliatory approach toward Belgrade.

"The opposite is true. When someone takes a tougher stance, as Kurti has done, voters reward him for it. That is why the opposition has no need to address the issue during negotiations on forming institutions. It did not have to do so during the election campaign either, and there is even less reason to do so now," Gogic told Kosovo Online.

He explains that, following the June elections, it has become clear that the current opposition will not assume responsibility for forming institutions or governing, placing it in the comfortable position of not having to take a stand on difficult issues such as the dialogue with Belgrade.

"The opposition has neither an interest nor a logical reason to tell Kurti: 'We will provide the quorum to elect the president and allow you to consolidate your power on the condition that you soften your stance toward Belgrade.' If they have any bargaining leverage at all, they will probably seek concessions for themselves, such as government positions, which had been speculated about earlier," Gogic said.

He also pointed out that part of the opposition conditioned its support for Kurti on his acceptance of the U.S.-backed project to connect Kosovo to a liquefied natural gas supply network. According to Gogic, the opposition knows Kurti will reject the proposal but uses it to send a positive signal to Washington.

"They know that will earn them credit with the Americans. If they took a similar approach toward Brussels and the dialogue, however, neither Albanian voters nor the European Union would reward them. The EU requires normalization of relations, but it is not something that must be resolved immediately or is subject to constant pressure from Brussels. Brussels occasionally insists on lower-level negotiations and specific agreements, such as the Law on Foreigners and related facilitation measures, but Kosovo is not currently prevented from taking its next step toward Europe because of the lack of normalization," Gogic said.

He added that progress in the dialogue with Belgrade is also not a current condition for receiving funding under the EU Growth Plan, where the emphasis is instead on domestic reforms.

"In general, all Albanian parties approach the dialogue reactively. They deliver only what they must, and only when they must. No one will proactively say, 'Let's please Brussels by dropping all our preconditions for talks with Belgrade.' That simply would not be rewarded," he concluded.
Gogic added that the opposition currently has more pressing concerns than Kosovo's policy toward Serbia—namely, its own political survival.

CSM Will Be the First Issue Raised by the International Community

Dusan Radakovic, Executive Director of the NGO Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC), believes that neither the ruling nor the opposition Albanian parties are genuinely interested in negotiations with Belgrade, which is why the Brussels-facilitated dialogue is absent from discussions on future institutions.

"I think that neither the opposition nor the ruling party, Self-Determination, is genuinely interested in these negotiations. They are focused on other issues, such as the situation in the north, while the dialogue is simply not within their field of interest. If there is any movement in the process, it will be handled by the governing structures, while the opposition parties certainly will not deal with it," Radakovic told Kosovo Online.

He argues that the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue is effectively "clinically dead" and is not a government priority. Nevertheless, he believes that once a new government is formed, a president elected, and institutions begin functioning normally, the international community will immediately raise the issue of the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities—specifically, submitting the EU draft statute to the Constitutional Court.

"At present, the balance in the Constitutional Court is 5:4, meaning Kurti does not have a majority. It is therefore not in his interest to initiate the review of the statute because, if approved, the Community would then have to be established, which Self-Determination opposes. The opposition also has no interest in discussing negotiations with Belgrade because they have always been a bitter pill for every Kosovo government, requiring difficult concessions. They would rather avoid the issue and try to gain additional votes if new elections are called," Radakovic said.

In his view, the three conditions repeatedly cited by Self-Determination for continuing the dialogue are primarily intended to avoid engaging in talks.

"Anyone can set conditions if they do not want dialogue. But from the perspective of the Serbian community in Kosovo, every day of dialogue and every conversation is better than the current situation, in which only the Serbs living in Kosovo continue to suffer," he said.

Radakovic added that he strongly supports restoring negotiations at the highest political level, addressing issues through the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities, as well as resolving questions related to missing persons, rail transport, and possibly reactivating the Washington Agreement.

"These are issues that improve the lives of all citizens of Kosovo, including the Serbian community. The current situation, with a clinically dead dialogue, primarily harms the Serbian community in Kosovo," Radakovic concluded.