Vuletic: We can hardly expect radical steps from the EU for Kurti's behavior

Sociologist Vladimir Vuletic believes that we should not expect radical actions or measures from the EU toward Albin Kurti's administration and that the issue of visa liberalization is the EU's leverage in possibly conditioning Pristina.

"We can hardly expect any substantial, radical steps or changes in response to Kurti's behavior. Everyone is now in a state of anticipation regarding the upcoming US presidential election, although, to be honest, I do not expect any significant changes there either. Only if Kurti were removed from the head of those institutions might we hope, if nothing else, for a change in the way the provisional institutions treat Serbs and in the way they conduct negotiations. But until then, there is still a lot of time, and I don't believe anything will change, especially that any stronger sanctions will be imposed on Kosovo," Vuletic said to Kosovo Online.

He explains that the international community is aware that Albin Kurti has pursued a unilateral policy from the beginning of his mandate, with the sole aim of mutual recognition between Belgrade and Pristina.

"We all know, and the international community knows as well, that from the moment Kurti took charge of the provisional institutions, he and this policy have pursued a unilateral approach, a policy that assumes the only goal and starting point is mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia, or rather Belgrade and Pristina. And they all know this," Vuletic emphasized.

He adds that Kurti has softened his "formal rhetoric" by agreeing to participate in talks but has compensated for it in other ways.

"He has taken unilateral actions, and in the end, those talks have turned into, or he has tried to turn them into, primarily a kind of normalization of his unilateral actions. He continues along that path, depending on how much Belgrade agrees, and to that extent, the international community makes statements like the one from Peter Stano," Vuletic explained.

He doubts that the possible introduction of additional economic sanctions on Kosovo would change Pristina's political course but believes that conditioning visa liberalization could be the EU's "trump card" that might have an effect.

"As for economic sanctions, there is no doubt that this is something that worries Albanians the least. We have seen that they do not pay much attention to it. If they did, they would not have taken steps that were aimed, of course, against Serbia, but also against the population in Kosovo. When it comes to visa liberalization, that is something that the European Union now holds as a trump card, especially before these elections. Whether and to what extent they will use it remains to be seen. A serious threat in that direction would be sufficient, but I am not so sure that the EU is ready to fundamentally change a model of behavior that has already been established," Vuletic believes.

He thinks that a change in the West's attitude toward Pristina could occur if there were a different administration in the US, as "different mechanisms" would likely be used.

"The EU has the mechanisms and tools at its disposal to discipline Kurti. Why they do not use them is something we will have the opportunity to see in the coming months," Vuletic concluded.