What to make of the recent Grenell-facilitated agreements between Kosovo and Serbia

April 27, 2020

US Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, was appointed Special Envoy to the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue in October 2019 and has since reached two important, albeit not entirely transparent, agreements between the two countries – firstly restoring air links, and secondly restoring railways and building highways. This revived US engagement brewed a national political crisis in Kosovo, with Kurti’s short-lived governments ousted and the tariffs formally lifted in their entirety. What is to be said about this revived American engagement in the region? Why is it happening now and how has it, arguably wickedly, played out at the national government level? And how has it been received by other stakeholders, namely the EU? This Policy Note will tap into these

questions by examining the agreements reached between Kosovo and Serbia and helmed by the US, from their timing to the not-so-transparent content, and from the political parties’ reactions to the ambiguous way forward.

Share article


Latest Publications

Related Espresso Insights

October 28, 2024

Espresso.Insights

From D.C. to the Balkans: Why America’s Choice Matters More than Ever?

by GLPS

July 20, 2024

Espresso.Insights

What Can We Expect from von der Leyen’s Second Mandate?

by GLPS