Canaj: The EU should pressure both sides to resolve the issue of Serbian institutions in Kosovo

The issue of Serbian institutions, which are being unilaterally shut down by the Kosovo authorities and which has drawn criticism from the European Union, can and must be resolved through dialogue, according to Blerim Canaj, a university professor in Pristina and former diplomat. For that to happen, he says, the EU needs to pressure both sides.

Canaj states that the issue of Serbian institutions began to be addressed in the 2013 dialogue and that the agreement envisioned a step-by-step approach, but that it seems nothing has been implemented to this day.

"We have seen in recent years that some institutions were unilaterally closed. The European Union should be more engaged with this topic in the sense of examining why something that was part of the 2013 agreement hasn't been implemented. I have the feeling that the EU, like Vuic and Kurti, is just playing politics without a plan or will to resolve it," Canaj told Kosovo Online.

According to him, such topics should not be used to gain political points.

"I believe the EU should pressure both sides in the dialogue because this issue can and must somehow be resolved, since northern Kosovo or topics like this cannot be constantly used whenever a politician needs to gain political advantage in their own country. This applies to Albanian politics in Kosovo, as well as to Serbian politics both in Kosovo and in Belgrade," Canaj states.