Surlic: No one exactly knows what de facto recognition of Kosovo means; indications in the Franco-German plan

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Stefan Surlic, believes that no one knows precisely what the message sent by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding expectations for de facto recognition of Kosovo means, but emphasizes that it can be inferred based on the points agreed upon in the Franco-German plan and the Ohrid annex.

"For the first time, we heard that term in the statement of the three most powerful leaders of the EU: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Actually, no one knows exactly what it means, but based on the points agreed upon in the Franco-German Agreement and the Ohrid annex, we can assume that it refers to the acceptance of documents issued by the institutions in Pristina, presenting Kosovo without an asterisk and the UNMIK label in regional forums, and abandoning the policy of blocking Kosovo on the international stage and continuing the policy of withdrawing recognitions of Kosovo's independence", Surlic told Kosovo Online.

He explains that the listed concrete points are what could be heard in the previous period and what European officials repeated as expectations that Belgrade should fulfill.