Three conclusions from Brussels

The European plan for the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, announced by Borrell and Lajcak on February 27, after the meeting between Vucic and Kurti in Brussels, caused an uproar in the Serbian and Albanian political public, as expected, and among the general public as well.

On both sides, ratings and assessments are pouring in, and conclusions and predictions are being made. Experts analyze, the opposition attacks, and pressure groups do their job - press. But, when you spread out all those slogans, conjectures, platitudes, manipulations, afterthoughts, media spins, and then all the exaggerated emotions, which are unavoidable in this case, somewhere under all that commotion, there are facts that point to three main conclusions:

- The formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, an obligation from the Brussels Agreement of 10 years ago, has finally come to the forefront in Brussels, thanks to the Serbian side's consistent insistence, despite Pristina's persisting resentment.
 
- Nothing was signed, talks within the European framework continued, and Serbia, in highly unfavorable circumstances, avoided the trap of being accused of its blockade.

- Belgrade unequivocally emphasized its position that it does not accept Kosovo's statehood and UN membership, which Brussels and Washington agreed must be respected in the further process of searching for a solution. Of course, it caused enormous dissatisfaction on the Albanian side.

As a result of all three conclusions, Serbia showed at the talks in Brussels that it does not give up its rights and the protection of the rights of Serbs in Kosovo, and also that it does not give up its right and the need to be part of a developed European society. Those two goals are strategic and logical.

However, what makes a logical error and makes the whole thing very complicated is the effort of a large part of Europe (though not all, it should be noted) to accept Kosovo as a state at any cost, as a seceded part of Serbia. And, in the end, it ultimately demands consent from the Serbian side for that. That is why Belgrade and Brussels attract and repel each other at the same time, and why all this is so complex and dramatic. As the old Serbian proverb goes, that's the bush in which the rabbit is lying – that is what all this is about. Everyone has known this for a long time, but some pretend to have just woken up from a long nap, and some are still napping.

The war in Ukraine is undoubtedly the subtext of the talks in Brussels on the future of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. That is why there is a hurry, and why it is important for Serbia to "give in".

It is a clash of civilizations, as Samuel Huntington so beautifully announced in his prophetic essay in 1996. And so it is, Serbia in that story belongs to the old European culture and civilization; it is not difficult to agree on that. The political West is a gravitational force that held Serbia together over centuries of Ottoman slavery, as well as during the Cold War division and the Comintern's strong influence.

However, determining what is the European, or more broadly Western, cultural, and civilizational model is no longer simple. Belgium, for example, is the founder and center of the European Union, but at the same time, it is now the main factory of radical Islamists. Anyone who has visited Brussels, which is divided along clear religious and ethnic lines, understands what it is all about. Similar situations exist in Paris, Berlin, and Stockholm. Whether the building of the new "Berlin Wall" will reduce these internal tensions and antagonisms, or whether they will become even greater, is only one of the questions that Europe is facing.

At the rift between the worlds, which the Balkans have carried for centuries as the key determinant, things are again bizarrely breaking through Serbia. The events of the 20th century are tragic. Many mistakes were made. Because of them, the bills are still being paid today. In today's world circumstances, can Serbia and Kosovo be without new tragic consequences, and if so, how? Can Serbs and Albanians achieve at least peace in Kosovo? Or are we just preparing for a new war? These are the questions. That is what we talk about when we talk about Brussels, the dialogue, the European plan, Vucic's messages, and Kurti's wishes.

Written by Milos Garic, editor of the Kosovo Online portal