16-3-2023 Euronews

17/3/2023, 11:08

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The making of a Balkan deal: Euronews interviews Kosovo’s Albin Kurti and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić.

By Euronews Brussels bureau

If there’s something certain about Balkan politics, it’s their ability to keep you waiting til the very last hour – or even minute.

The feeling is palpable this week in anticipation of Saturday’s meeting in North Macedonia between Kosovo and Serbia, where the former wartime foes are expected to sign off an EU-brokered deal to normalise their relations and turn the page on border tensions.

The 11-point agreement was reached “in principle” last month and has received the backing of Germany, France and the United States. Now, it’s up to the leaders themselves, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić, to bring it across the finish line.

But will they do so?

In separate interviews with Euronews recorded ahead of the 18 March meeting, Kurti and Vučić expressed moderate hopes for a breakthrough but stood firm in their national demands.

“I'm going again to North Macedonia in good faith with goodwill, to normalise relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo is a normal country, but it doesn't have normal relations with Serbia,” said Kurti, calling the proposed deal a “solid ground to move forward.”

“I don’t speak that often about red lines,” Vučić told our reporter Sergio Cantone, when asked about the odds for success. “If you speak too much about red lines, there are no negotiable issues and the other side will insist on his red lines. And it's more important to discuss the issue properly, which means to try to find compromise solutions.”

The agreement on the table proposes that both parties respect each other’s territorial integrity and recognise each other’s documents and national symbols, including car plates, a flashpoint in recent months. The text does not compel Serbia to recognise Kosovo as an independent country but it does prevent Belgrade from blocking – or encouraging others to block – Pristina’s accession to international organisations and the European Union.

A contentious point in the deal is the granting a level of self-management to the Serb community living in Kosovo – which both sides appear to interpret in vastly different manners.

For Vučić, self-management means the creation of an Association of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo, operating separately with its own executive powers. Such a body had been approved back in 2013 but was later ruled unconstitutional by Kosovo’s highest court.

“The final aim is to bring Albanians and Serbs both from Kosovo, but also Albanians and Serbs in an entire region, to live together, to live much better and to respect each other,” said Vučić.

But Kurti was adamant: no mono-ethnic entity will be established under his watch.

“I'm here as Prime Minister of all citizens, no matter what their nationality, national identity or ethnicity or religious background,” Kurti said.

“So, I want to satisfy all the citizens according to their rights and needs and requests. But mono-ethnic solutions are not possible due to the laws of our democratic republic.”

Asked if he could draw a line between the concept of autonomy and self-determination, Vučić criticised the international community for giving the right of self-determination to “some people,” like the Kosovars, and not to “some others,” and said his country had already made “many concessions” in the negotiations.

“Now I'm insisting on reconciliation, real reconciliation, not always trying to humiliate the other side, but to find a compromising solution for both,” Vučić said.

For his part, Kurti said the deal, if eventually signed off, should not plunge his country into “territorial ethno-nationalism like it was in Bosnia,” a reference to the entity formed in 1992 to safeguard the interests of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Vučić rejected the comparison.)

“We could move forward towards EU integration by respecting each individual in spite of our backgrounds, also taking into consideration the peculiarities of ethnicity and culture,” Kurti said, urging to consider the question of self-management “as a protection of rights, not as a territorial position on rights, which would separate and segregate communities.”

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

THE FRONTLINE Diplomatic outreach has been this week’s main theme: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks with Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö travelled to Turkey to move forward his country’s NATO bid. Meanwhile, intense fighting continues in the bloody battle of Bakhmut as the Wagner mercenary group appears to step up recruiting efforts in high schools after losing access to Russian prisons. In Moldova, authorities are warning of a “hybrid warfare generated by Russia” to overthrow the current government. And in Germany, a prominent lawmaker issued a scathing review, saying “not a single euro” has been spent from a special €100 billion fund for the army.

‘HIDDEN OR OPEN’ China’s role in the Ukraine war is “rather destructive than constructive,” says Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. “Unfortunately, I see the attempts of China (are) to continue this war, to make this war even more bloody,” the Lithuanian leader told Euronews. “In such a situation that China is in the hidden or open form supporting Russia, it's very difficult to believe that China may play the role of mediator between the two countries.” Read the full interview.

MARKET TURMOIL Anxiety is palpable among investors after two mid-size American banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, collapsed over the weekend. European banks were hit hard on Wednesday, when stocks of Credit Suisse dropped to record lows. But the news didn’t deter the ECB from further hiking interest rates. In Strasbourg, Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for financial services, urged authorities to “stay alert” to the new economic reality.

TECH MONEY Before its much-publicised meltdown, Silicon Valley Bank was known as the go-to bank for venture capitalists and tech start-ups looking for funding. The bank had a very specific scope and geographical reach, making it a largely unfamiliar name for those outside the sector. However, SVB did have some presence in Europe. Here’s where. And Euronews Next offers much-needed answers to the most burning question: Is my money safe?

NEW RULES The long-awaited reform of the EU electricity market eschews radical change and instead bets on long-term contracts between suppliers and consumers, an arrangement that can inject more stability to monthly bills. Jorge Liboreiro brings you everything you need to know about the proposed reform and zooms in on one of its central elements: contracts for difference.

NUCLEAR OPTION Fearing a humiliating legislative defeat, President Emmanuel Macron decided to trigger Article 49.3 of the French constitution to pass his pension reform without a vote in parliament. The decision, made just minutes before lawmakers were set to begin voting on the bill, comes with risky consequences for the government, including a highly likely vote of no confidence.

NOT SO FAST Several European countries, like Austria, are looking at introducing lower speed limits on motorways in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. But the idea faces pushback from critics who say the plans will do little to cut down pollution and amount to excessive state intervention. Jack McGovan examines if speed limits are worth the fight.

BABY BOOM Is Oliver the new Lucas? Does Isabella now outrank Hanna? Euronews Culture consults various statistical institutes to find out which are the most popular names for babies across Europe.

UNITED OPPOSITION The race is definitely on for Turkey’s presidential election. The date has been confirmed for 14 May and opposition forces have settled on one common candidate: Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of social-democratic CHP party. Widely seen as a moderate voice with a focus on human rights, Kılıçdaroğlu will face off against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has come under enormous criticism over the response to the fatal earthquakes. This is what the polls tell us.

IN PICTURES A look back at 12 years of Syria’s devastating civil war.

IT'S IN THE NUMBERS

The European Union will aim to have 40% of the key technology it needs to combat climate change built within its own borders by 2030. The goal is the centrepiece of a new strategy designed to boost domestic industry and cut dependencies on foreign suppliers, mainly China, but it is also a direct response to the $369-billion Inflation Reduction Act passed last year by the Joe Biden administration.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

America’s latest cultural war, drag shows, also hits hard in Europe

Drag shows have become the latest battlefield in America’s so-called “culture wars,” as conservatives in the country push to restrict performances where children might be in attendance. Last month, Tennessee became the first US state to restrict drag performances within its territory with a law that prohibits “adult and cabaret performances” in public or in the presence of children. The law specifically targets “male or female impersonators.” But while European media gasp at the latest US controversy, the debate over drag shows has spread across the old continent as well. Just like America, Europe is divided on drag culture and its influence on children, writes Giulia Carbonaro.

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