Wolfgang Ischinger / Oliver Rolofs
Kosovo and Serbia: Options for a Modus Vivendi?
Summary
On 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed the view that the Republic of Kosovo is, and will remain, an independent state. The advisory opinion and the last UN resolution of the General Assembly on Kosovo of September 2010 – eleven years after the intervention of NATO – is hopefully going to usher in a modus vivendi for both Belgrade and Pristina.
The key elements needed to settle the dispute had already been developed by the Kosovo troika in 2007 using Ahtisaari's proposals as a guideline. Now they have to be implemented. To get the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina going, several elements are important: The EU needs to live up to their responsibility of supporting peace and stability in the entire region. For Serbia it is time to look ahead. From a political and economic point of view it is overdue that relations between Kosovo and Serbia return to normal.
For a productive dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the article discusses six approaches to resolve the bilateral dispute and the EU's current dilemma of not being able to take decisions or lead due to internal dissent. The EU should assume a clear leadership role and develop perspectives for the region, and Belgrade and Pristina must find a modus vivendi with each other as they aspire to join the EU.
http://www.suedosteuropa-gesellschaft.com/mitteilungen/summaries/2010/summaries_04_05_2010.pdf
