Novakovic: The EP has not directly influenced the dialogue, but for the first time, we heard it calling on Serbia to recognize Kosovo

The European Parliament is not a body that directly influenced the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, but certainly the actions of certain MEPs were biased towards one side or the other. For the first time, we could hear in official resolutions and declarations that Serbia is being called upon to recognize Kosovo, says Igor Novakovic from the Center for International and Security Affairs.

The next elections for the European Parliament are scheduled for this June (from the 6th to the 9th), with the previous ones held in 2019. Igor Novakovic notes that this session of the European Parliament, like all previous ones, did not have a direct impact on the dialogue, as everything was in the hands of the High Representative, or the Council of the EU.

"The EP primarily had an influence at the political, not the structural level. Regarding the trust of Serbian citizens in the EU, I think it's a matter of interpretation by our state officials, i.e., the decline in trust in the EU and other trends depend on how our officials approach this and how it is interpreted by local media," says Novakovic.

In this year's EP session, Viola von Cramon was the rapporteur for Kosovo, and Vladimir Bilčik for Serbia, and our interlocutor believes their work was very important.

"They reported on the progress of both sides, and when it comes to Serbia it was more significant because it has open negotiations with the EU, while Pristina only has the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU. Thus, the reports from Von Cramon and Bilcik contributed to creating a certain political atmosphere, but did not substantially influence the dialogue," he says.

Regarding the EP elections, Novakovic says that the current ruling majority is expected to retain the majority. "The EP has a certain, but not decisive, influence on the formation of EU institutions. So it is important who the people in the EP are, but this again depends on the elections which are direct," Novakovic comments, who also reflected on one of the last decisions of the European Parliament regarding visa liberalization for Serbs from Kosovo.

"A type of discrimination was corrected. It simply seems that when the decision on visa liberalization for holders of Kosovar passports was made, no one at that moment thought about those who have passports of the Coordination Directorate, which is a significant portion of people in Kosovo."