On April 30, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) held a Roundtable Discussion on the topic: “Kosovo Serbia Dialogue in the Light of the Berlin Summit”, held in Prishtina. The aim of this event was to discuss the direction and expectations of the dialogue with Serbia, after the high rank meetings during the Berlin Summit. Dialogue is increasingly being presented to have entered into a finale stage, but the process itself continues to be followed by ambiguity and uncertainty over the content of a potential political agreement. Therefore, taking this and the continuous lack of broad political consensus into the account, GLPS deems the need for public discussion even more paramount. At the beginning of the event, GLPS present the next paper in the series of papers on dialogue, titled: “An analysis of the recent developments in the Kosovo Serbia Dialogue: A perspective from Brussels”. This Policy Analysis discusses the latest developments in Kosovo and Serbia through the lenses of European capitals, namely Brussels. The panel agreed that the Berlin Summit has confirmed an increased role and higher involvement of Germany and France in the process, while diminishing the idea of territorial exchange. In general, chairs of parliamentary groups of the opposition parties in Kosovo were highly critical towards Kosovo’s representation during the Summit, by highlighting the inability of Kosovo political representatives to coordinate, and consequently, approached the Summit with totally different stances. On the other hand, Mr. Sherifi from Nisma, a party that is part of the coalition in power, considered the Summit to serve as an event to gather and balance relations among both parties in Kosovo and in Serbia, with the purpose of progressing in the process. In addition, he reiterated the need for a political consensus in Kosovo, which would seek to further conclude the dialogue process with the already in place mechanisms, such as the platform, law on the Dialogue with Serbia, and the negotiating team already established for this purpose. Overall, the panel agreed that the Berlin Summit has definitely given a new dynamic to the dialogue, as well as the overall European perspective of the Western Balkans. This event was part a series of debates on the final phase of the Kosovo Serbia dialogue, where GLPS aims at providing a platform of discussion and cooperation where sensitive issues on the dialogue can be addressed, and as a result unite political parties around them.

The Analysis can be found (in English and Albanian) here.

Panelists:

Mr. Avdullah Hoti – Chair of the Parliamentary Group, LDK;

Mr. Glauk Konjufca – Chair of the Parliamentary Group, LVV;

Mr. Bilall Sherifi – Chair of the Parliamentary Group, Nisma;

Mr. Visar Ymeri – Member of the Parliament, PSD;

Mr. Perparim Kryeziu – Research Fellow, GLPS;

Mr. Fisnik Korenica – Co-founder and Senior Research Fellow, GLPS.

Venue: Orion Conference Centre (Str. Rexhep Luci, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)