Pavkovic: Agreement on the implementation of the Law on Foreigners is Kurti’s first major compromise

Milos Pavkovic, Director of Strategy at the Center for European Policies in Belgrade, assessed that the agreement on the implementation of the Law on Foreigners represents the first major compromise made by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in the dialogue. He added that there is a possibility that the move was encouraged by an informal promise from the EU that Kosovo’s candidacy could soon appear on the agenda of the EU Council.

“This is indeed the first major compromise Kurti has made in the dialogue. He is obviously under pressure from the possibility of early elections and all the developments on the domestic political scene. In a way, this is a serious compromise, considering that after pressure from the EU he effectively abandoned the implementation of the Law on Foreigners, that is, postponed its application for one year, while allowing all Serbs living in Kosovo to have their documents recognized — identity cards, employment in institutions of the Republic of Serbia — and to receive residence permits for one year,” Pavkovic told Kosovo Online.

Pavkovic states that Kurti’s position has not weakened, but that he agreed to the compromise due to informal promises from Brussels regarding the end of the stagnation in Kosovo’s European integration process.

“He won more than 50 percent of the vote, although there is still the possibility of new elections hanging in the air, which he also fears, as well as the conflict with the current president. But on the other hand, I think the EU’s strongest card was probably some informal promise that Kosovo’s candidacy would be taken out of the drawer and placed on the agenda of the EU Council. It seems to me that this was sufficient incentive for Kurti to make this type of compromise,” he said.

However, Pavkovic believes that the implementation of the Law on Foreigners remains an open issue.

“It will come back onto the agenda next March, and we see that the integration of Serbian institutions into the Kosovo system has been announced, without any indication that the formation of the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities will begin. This raises the question of what that integration will look like and whether the Association of Serb Municipalities is still relevant or has been effectively put ad acta,” Pavkovic stated.