ROUND TABLE DISSCUSSION 25.05.2022

Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI) organized a roundtable discussion titled “Kosovo-Serbia relations: Car plates and a Dialogue that is not moving!”. Invited to this conference were representatives of civil society, representatives of institutions, diplomatic missions in Kosovo and the media.

At the opening of the roundtable, the Executive Director of the Kosova Democratic Institute, Mr. Ismet Kryeziu, spoke first about the activities of KDI in monitoring the dialogue process and stressed the need for engagement of civil society to influence the increase of the quality of this process. .

On the other hand, Mr. Demush Shasha, Executive Director of the Epic Institute, invited as a panelist to this roundtable, joined the discussion through Skype and emphasized the external factors and international developments that affect the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. While he added that there is uncertainty in what the parties will benefit from the progress in the dialogue, therefore there is no incentive for the parties to commit to this process. In this regard, according to him, it is Serbia that has further delayed progress in the dialogue precisely in the absence of clear incentives to move forward in this process.

Whereas, Mr. Dukagjin Gorani, political analyst, also panelist at this roundtable, said that dialogue is an inevitable process, which has brought some responsibilities and obligations that the state of Kosovo has assumed. He further added that the dialogue process should not be seen as an international imposition and both Kosovo and Serbia should be constructive and creative in finding a solution because it is in the best interest of both parties. He further added that dialogue is also important for ensuring the sustainable integration of the Serb community living in Kosovo and social cohesion and interethnic coexistence.

On the other hand, Violeta Haxholli from KDI, provided a brief summary of current developments in the dialogue with special emphasis on the lack of progress in reaching agreements on topics such as car plates, energy and the issue of missing persons. While, she said that the parties have not yet started discussions on the final agreement and still do not agree on what should be the epilogue of the dialogue.

In the open discussion between those present at this roundtable, it was stressed that Kosovo must prove itself as a serious state by standing behind the obligations it has undertaken and clearly articulate the goals it wants to achieve in foreign policy and dialogue. Finally, the need to develop an internal dialogue with both the Serb community and the political spectrum, civil society and academia in order to achieve internal consensus and agreement on the requirements and obligations arising from the dialogue process was stressed.