Vujinovic: I’m not optimistic about the fate of the EU’s CSM draft

Security studies researcher Nikola Vujinovic says that the EU has not abandoned its draft proposal for the CSM, but he is not optimistic about how the new Foreign Affairs Commissioner, Kaja Kallas, will handle this issue.

"We can expect that once the new administration is fully in place, this will be on the agenda. However, I am not optimistic about the fate of the proposal itself," Vujinovic told Kosovo Online.

Commenting on the statement by Kosovo Government Spokesperson Perparim Kryeziu that the EU proposal is essentially a non-paper document, Vujinovic says that this is accurate.

“It is one of many proposals on the table in the CSM negotiations. With the arrival of Ms. Kallas, we can expect this topic to reemerge, but this time with a much more negative stance toward Serbia. Kallas is one of the strongest anti-Russian hawks in the European Union, and the fact that Serbia refuses to impose sanctions on Russia will be a red flag for her, prompting her to seek various means to pressure us as much as possible,” Vujinovic emphasized.

He believes that the formation of the CSM was initially an “excuse” for both Pristina and the EU, the primary mediator in negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina.

“Fundamentally, they fear a new Republika Srpska. And we see how the RS, despite its limited powers and constant challenges, shows a clear political identity. This is what Kosovo Albanians fear, primarily because it would reveal that the elite, the political elite of Mr. Kurti, and Mr. Kurti’s government in general, is not as democratic or as stable as it claims to be. Perhaps I am a pessimist, but I don’t see the CSM being formed in the future. And if it is established, it will likely be just an empty formality, entirely dependent on Albin Kurti,” Vujinovic stressed.