Surlic: The situation between Belgrade and Pristina would have been more relaxed if the CSM had been formed 11 years ago

On the anniversary of the Brussels Agreement, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences Stefan Surlic expresses the belief that today the political situation between Belgrade and Pristina would have been much more relaxed if the CSM had been implemented 11 years ago and that the Brussels Agreement fulfilled its mission, which, as he stated, was the accommodation of differences, enabling freedom of movement, living, the right to distinctiveness, and the right to cultural heritage.

Unfortunately, Surlic points out, it has been shown that the dialogue is constantly blocked, and Kosovo and Serbia have not progressed beyond the points of the Brussels Agreement, except for those that Belgrade was obligated to implement.

"All the points that were on the Serbian side as obligations have been fulfilled, while those points that primarily concerned the CSM have not been implemented," he noted.

He believes that the latest agreement, known as the Franco-German plan, was not even necessary if the Brussels Agreement had been respected.

"In the end, it seems that in some new guise, in some new agreement, the old agreement was actually sold and presented as a new concession, namely that the CSM is once again presented as a new concession to the Serbian community and Belgrade for the continuation of dialogue," Surlic pointed out.

He emphasizes that the Brussels Agreement was necessary because, as he explains, that agreement was actually the epilogue of a very bad situation that prevailed in northern Kosovo.

"The whole process started with technical dialogue and ended with the Brussels Agreement with the intention of reducing tensions and enabling the institutional framework for the functioning of the Serbian community in Kosovo. I believe that if the CSM had been implemented then and if the Brussels Agreement had fulfilled its mission, which is the accommodation of differences, enabling freedom of movement, living, the right to distinctiveness, the right to cultural heritage, we would have a much more relaxed political situation today and readiness from both Belgrade and Pristina to address perhaps even much more difficult issues," Surlic assessed for Kosovo Online.

By not implementing the Brussels Agreement, he emphasizes, any hope of the Serbian community in Kosovo for an agreement and for normal life on that territory regardless of who is in power in Pristina has been lost.

In these circumstances, he adds, there is no point in continuing the dialogue and no reason for Belgrade and Pristina to hold formal meetings in Brussels when it does not really reflect on the ground.

Commenting on Pristina ignoring its obligations under the Brussels Agreement, intensifying attacks and pressures on Serbs, Surlic emphasizes that the Kosovo authorities tried in that way to gain time for the Serbian population to give up their demands and lives in Kosovo.

"I think the strategy is bad because Pristina's idea is that over time the Serbian issue will disappear on its own, that the significance of the CSM will be lost. It has already been announced that nearly 15% of Serbs have left in the past two years, primarily from northern Kosovo, and permanently left that territory," he noted.

He warns that if these very negative trends continue, the majority of people of Serbian nationality living in Kosovo will not see a future for themselves and their families.

"And then politicians in Kosovo think that it will be enough to not talk about any autonomy for Serbs anymore, it will be enough for Serbia to recognize independent Kosovo as the final act of our relations," Surlic explains.

He believes that such a strategy of the Pristina authorities is wrong because the opposite will happen – if the number of Serbs declines in Kosovo, if there really is no functional CSM, then whoever is in power in Belgrade will lose any motivation to make compromises with Pristina.

There will be, he says, a clear line of hatred, misunderstanding, and the absence of any dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

When asked what the reality would be if the Brussels Agreement were fully implemented today, Surlic emphasizes that it would immediately lead to a relaxation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.

"Serbs would be part of institutions, present in the judiciary, in politics, they would feel protected, they would have their CSM as an institutional framework, and perhaps some hope would be given to the remaining population living in Kosovo that they could stay and have guarantees and some certainty. The key problem in their lives is that they have no certainty. The CSM is not only politically but also psychologically important for people living in Kosovo. I think the implementation of the Brussels Agreement at this moment would be some hope. If some major things do not happen in the next year or two, I think it will be really late for any idea of dialogue," Surlic concluded.