On 3rd of July Prishtina Institute for Political Studies organized the discussion Kosovo’s approach towards five EU non-recognizers. The panel of the discussion consisted of: Enver HOXHAJ (Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo), Ilir DEDA (Member of Parliament), Gëzim VISOKA (Lecturer at Dublin University).
In this event we discussed the relations of Kosovo with the five EU non-recognizers (Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Spain) tackled both from the current context, but also from a perspective of a decade of statehood.
Among others, Deputy Prime Minister Hoxhaj depicted the non-recognition of these five countries as one the most negative aspects of Kosovo’s state-building process. He explained the non-recognition of these countries through historical, cultural factors, as well as from the domestic aspect of some of these countries in regards to their minorities. Further, Deputy Prime Minister Hoxhaj discussed the friendly relations and cooperation with these countries, at the same time expressing his conviction that they will support Kosovo’s visa liberalization quest.
Member of Parliament Ilir Deda said that the Euro-atlantic and Transl-Atlantic order has received several hits, which goes against Kosovo’s state-building process. According to Deda, Kosovo’s domestic decision-making has hampered Kosovo’s international representation. At the same time, Deda was critical of EU, noting that regardless of the recognition by the majority of member countries, more often than not, it persists on its neutral status in regards to Kosovo.
Gezim Visoka offered a combined empirical and academic perspective, offering an overview on Kosovo’s state-building process, successes and challenges, as well as Kosovo’s diplomatic alternatives at this given moment. Visoka noted that Kosovo should create a narration for its foreign policy, but was also critical of the EU noting that it has failed to impose a common attitude on Kosovo upon its member states, even though EU was in line with the Ahtisaari plan, from with Kosovo’s independence was declared.
This roundtable was organized under the project "Improving Democratic Practices and Decision-Making Quality in Kosovo's Foreign Policy", funded by the DSP scheme managed by KCSF, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.