Surlic: Progress in the dialogue is not possible; the presence of Serbs in institutions would not change the situation in northern Kosovo

Stefan Surlic, assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, has stated that the scenario in northern Kosovo would unfold identically with or without Serbs in Kosovo's institutions and that there was no part of the Serbian community that was not, to a greater or lesser extent, threatened by the actions of the authorities in Pristina, as reported by Nova S.

Surlic believes that progress in normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina is not possible until the dialogue framework changes, which has remained the same since 2011.

"The first shortcoming is the so-called constructive ambiguity, which offers both sides the possibility to interpret the agreements in their own way. The second shortcoming is the absence of sanctions for non-implementation of the agreements. For this reason, new rounds of dialogue already appear to be an eternal cycle of repetition, in which, mainly due to the mediators of the process, a small step or concession is made but without substantial progress in normalizing relations," Surlic said in an interview with Nova S.

He emphasized that the scenario in northern Kosovo would unfold almost identically with or without Serbs in institutions.

"There was a clear determination by the government of Albin Kurti to establish a 'new reality' in the north before any activities related to the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities. Perhaps the continued presence of Serbian representatives in institutions would slow down or even thwart some of Pristina's intentions, but it would not fundamentally change the situation on the ground," Surlic said.

Commenting on the statement by French President Emmanuel Macron that visa policy will be reconsidered if the parties do not behave responsibly according to the French-German plan, and whether the possibility of imposing visas on Serbia is realistic, Surlic highlighted the need to mention the plan for de-escalating the situation in the north first.

"If there is indeed a commitment to implement the 'European proposal,' then I would not rule out the possibility of imposing visas on Serbia. However, we should remember the three-point plan for de-escalating the situation in northern Kosovo. It was said that harsh sanctions would follow if immediate implementation did not begin, but in the end, both implementation and sanctions were absent," Surlic said.