Gogic: Dialogue between MPs probably not feasible, Serbia’s condition would be status neutrality

The idea proposed by the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Kosovo, Riho Terras, to initiate a dialogue between Serbian and Kosovo MPs, mediated by the European Parliament, is not a bad one and is welcome, according to political scientist Ognjen Gogic. However, he says it is probably not feasible because such a meeting of MPs could officially be interpreted as an act of implicit recognition of Kosovo by Serbia, and it is also uncertain whether Kosovo MPs would accept being represented with an asterisk.

“For Serbia and Serbian MPs, the condition would be that such meetings take place in a status-neutral environment, while the Kosovo side certainly would not make it easier for the Serbian side and would likely insist that they be represented on an equal footing,” Gogic told Kosovo Online.

He adds that there are, in fact, informal contacts between members of the Serbian and Kosovo parliaments, and that various NGOs bring them together behind closed doors.

“But as we can see, that does not produce results or contribute to improving the dialogue. The existence of contacts alone is not enough when there is no political will from those who make the key decisions about progress. Still, there is generally a call for making the dialogue more transparent and inclusive, and for involving more actors from both sides in the process, in order to potentially improve the sustainability of the solutions reached and achieve new agreements, which have been lacking for a long time,” Gogic emphasizes.

If a modality for MP meetings could be found that would be acceptable to both sides, and if their discussions were productive, then, as our interlocutor points out, it would influence public perception on both sides and would undoubtedly contribute to improving the climate for dialogue. In that case, he says, decision-makers in Belgrade and Pristina would find it more difficult to insist on rigid positions and would instead have to adapt to their respective publics.

“That would be a powerful message: if MPs can meet and talk, why can’t some issues be agreed upon and solutions implemented in practice? Also, the dialogue would be purposeful even if it addressed other topics. It doesn’t necessarily need to focus directly on dialogue-related issues; they could discuss topics like European integration or environmental protection, less controversial matters, which would also contribute to improving the climate for dialogue. But even then, it’s a big question whether this could be achieved in a status-neutral manner, which would be a condition for Serbia,” Gogic notes.