Kolakovic on France's new envoy: Troccaz worked with Kouchner, has experience in Israel and Cyprus

Senior research associate and historian Aleksandra Kolakovic assessed for Kosovo Online that France's appointment of a special envoy for the Western Balkans had been an expected move, as Paris sought a greater role and influence in this region, especially considering the Franco-German plan for Kosovo.

"France, since 2019, following the strategy for the Western Balkans that became public in April of that year, has shown increased interest in everything happening in the region, from political to economic, educational, and cultural aspects. In this context, areas of great importance to France in terms of security, such as Kosovo and Metohija, are recognized, and of course, there is Bosnia and Herzegovina, so this current appointment of special envoy Rene Troccaz should be viewed in that way," Kolakovic says.

She adds that there is a security aspect at risk at the moment, which also needs to be related to major changes in international relations and, as she says, the altered global situation since the period of the war in Ukraine.

"On the other hand, what has been emphasized is the increased activity of France in the context of Eurointegration in the region. One of Troccaz's tasks is not only to monitor relations in the region, not only the security aspect, but also to help the process of Eurointegration in the region, which is now already in the context of what is mentioned as the years of Western Balkan countries' accession to the EU," Kolakovic says.

She recalled the plan for 2029 and 2030 and the agenda of the European community, which will meet in Spain in the coming days, emphasizing that "it's all interconnected."

"It's necessary to consider this in the context that other countries also have special envoys for the Western Balkans – the UK, Germany, the US, and of course, there is the European special envoy. In this context, France wants to strengthen its diplomatic positions, but also in terms of the Franco-German plan for Kosovo and Metohija, as France is one of the creators of that plan," Kolakovic notes.

She mentions that Rene Troccaz is a diplomat with experience both in France and abroad.

"Yes, Troccaz was one of the advisors to Bernard Kouchner when he was the Foreign Minister of France, and that was in 2008 when Kosovo declared independence and when France recognized that independence. The name Bernard Kouchner carries tremendous weight, mostly negative when it comes to Serbia and Serbs. However, we can emphasize that Troccaz is someone who has had other diplomatic experience in crisis areas with significant security risks, such as Jerusalem, Israel, and Cyprus," Kolakovic says.

She believes that, in this context, his knowledge of issues and crisis resolution will be very valuable.

"Given that he has already been involved in some of these circles of French diplomacy that have a certain position toward Kosovo as an independent state, and considering France's position, it will certainly have important implications for his opinion. But when we take into account other aspects of his experience, which are not only related to Kosovo but also focused on the de-escalation of violence in the region, integration factors, especially economic, and, of course, Eurointegration, there is significant scope for diplomatic cooperation," she emphasizes.

She adds that in the coming period, we will see what Troccaz's moves will be and in which direction the whole situation can move.

"The complexity of the Kosovo and Metohija issue now depends not only on the position we had and have toward Bernard Kouchner, but the circumstances have changed, so we will see in which direction Troccaz will act and how much influence his close contact with Kushner will have, in the context of his position as one of the advisors," Kolakovic concludes.