SURVEYING THE SPECTRUM OF EU MEMBER STATE POLICIES TOWARDS KOSOVO SURVEYING THE SPECTRUM OF EU MEMBER STATE POLICIES JAMES KER-LINDSAY AND TOWARDS KOSOVO IOANNIS ARMAKOLAS 1 LACK OF ENGAGEMENT? SURVEYING THE SPECTRUM OF EU MEMBER STATE POLICIES TOWARDS KOSOVO SURVEYING THE SPECTRUM OF EU MEMBER STATE POLICIES 2 JAMES KER-LINDSAY AND TOWARDS KOSOVO IOANNIS ARMAKOLAS 3 LACK OF ENGAGEMENT? SURVEYING THE SPECTRUM OF EU MEMBER STATE POLICIES TOWARDS KOSOVO 00AUTHORS 07 00INTRODUCTION 10 THE UNITED 13 17 01KINGDOM 02GERMANY THE CZECH 21 25 03REPUBLIC 04POLAND 05GREECE 29 06SLOVAKIA 35 Editors: James Ker-Lindsay and Ioannis Armakolas Layout and Design ROMANIA 41 CYPRUS 47 Faton Selani December 2017 Prishtina 07 08 Published by: Kosovo Foundation for Open Society - KFOS Imzot Nikë Prelaj, Nr. 13, 10 000 Pristina Kosovë KOSOVAR For more information: [email protected] www.kfos.org SPAIN 51 DIPLOMACY 55 Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kosovo Foundation for Open AFTER Society - KFOS INDEPENDENCE 4 09 10 5 LACK OF ENGAGEMENT? SURVEYING THE SPECTRUM OF EU MEMBER STATE POLICIES TOWARDS KOSOVO JAMES KER-LINDSAY JULIA HIMMRICH TOMÁŠ DOPITA JAROSŁAW WIŚNIEWSKI James Ker-Lindsay is Professor of Politics Julia Himmrich is Dahrendorf Postdoctoral Tomáš Dopita earned a PhD degree in Interna- Jarosław Wiśniewski is a former Visiting and Policy at St Mary’s University, Twicken- Fellow at LSE IDEAS. She previously was a tional Relations at the Faculty of Social Sci- Fellow at LSEE Research in South Eastern ham, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the London Research Fellow on European defence at ences, Charles University in Prague. Currently, Europe, LSE European Institute. He holds a School of Economics and Political Science, the European Leadership Network (ELN) and he is a senior researcher at the Institute of PhD in European Studies from King’s Col- where he was formerly Senior Research taught on European and German Foreign International Relations in Prague and soon- lege London and has previously worked as Fellow on the Politics of South East Europe. Policy at King’s College London. She holds a to-be Editor-in-chief of Mezinárodní vztahy – a consultant for the European Commission, His research focuses on conflict, peace and PhD from the LSE on Germany’s recognition of Czech Journal of International Relations. In his Council of Europe, British Council as well as a security in South East Europe and on seces- Kosovo in 2008. Her wider research interest research, he focuses on encounters between number of European civil society organisations sion and recognition in international politics. lies in European foreign and security policy and collective subjects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and various public and private institutions in He is the author or editor of a dozen books, conflict settlement. European integration of the Western Balkans, the EU and in South East Europe: in Albania, including The Foreign Policy of Counter Seces- women and gender in international devel- Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia among others. sion: Preventing the Recognition of Contested opment, and equal opportunities in foreign He is currently working on a book ‘Securitizing States (Oxford University Press). service. European Energy Policy’ (Routledge, 2018). 67 78 LACK OF ENGAGEMENT? SURVEYING THE SPECTRUM OF EU MEMBER STATE POLICIES TOWARDS KOSOVO IOANNIS ARMAKOLAS PAUL IVAN RUTH FERRERO-TURRIÓN AGON DEMJAHA Ioannis Armakolas is Assistant Professor at Paul Ivan is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Ruth Ferrero-Turrión is Adjunct Professor of Agon Demjaha holds an MA with distinction in the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental European Policy Centre (EPC), where he works Comparative Politics and European Studies at International Relations and European Studies Studies, University of Macedonia (Thessaloniki) in the Europe in the World and the European Complutense and Carlos III Universities, Co-Di- and PhD in Political Sciences. He has more and ‘Stavros Costopoulos’ Research Fellow Politics and Institutions programmes. Be- rector, European and Eurasian Studies Group than three decades of experience in the field of and Head of the South-East Europe Pro- fore joining the EPC, Paul was a diplomat in (GEurasia). She is also Senior Research Fellow education and research with different govern- gramme at the Hellenic Foundation for Euro- the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a at Complutense Institute of International Stud- mental institutions and non-governmental or- pean and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) in Athens. researcher at the Centre for European Policy ies (ICEI) where she chairs Continuous Educa- ganisations. During 2006-2010, he has served He is also the Editor in Chief of the scientific Studies (CEPS) in Brussels and a researcher tion Programs on Migrations and International as the Ambassador of the Republic of Mace- journal Southeast European and Black Sea on EU external relations and security issues Relations, Immigration and Asylum EU Policies donia to the Kingdom of Sweden, while also Studies, published by Routledge, Taylor and at the Romanian Center for European Policies and New Balkan Contexts. Since 1996 she has covering the Kingdom of Norway and Republic Francis Group. (CRPE). Paul holds an MSc in International participated in different electoral processes as of Finland as a non-resident Ambassador. Mr. Relations from the London School of Econom- an international observer in Eastern European Demjaha has also been engaged as an advisor ics and Political Science (LSE) and bachelor’s countries (Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina. to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minis- MILAN NIČ degrees in International Relations, European Albania, Ukraine, Armenia, Russia). ter for Economic Development of the Republic Studies and History. of Kosovo. Currently, Mr. Demjaha works as an Assistant Professor of Political Sciences Milan Nič is Senior Fellow at the German and International Relations at the Tetovo State Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin. ISABELLE IOANNIDES University. He also teaches and is a mem- Until 2016, he was director of the Bratisla- ber of the South East European University’s va-based think tank within the Globsec Board. Mr. Demjaha has published a number organisation. He studied at the SAIS Johns Isabelle Ioannides is a Senior Associate Re- of articles in the field of political sciences in Hopkins University Bologna Center, the Central searcher in the ‘European Foreign and Security the international journals and is also author European University and the Charles University Policy’ cluster at the Institute for European of several chapters in edited books published in Prague. He worked as advisor to the High Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She carried by renowned press houses such as United Representative/EU Special Representative in out her post-doctoral research on EU support- Nations University Press and Imperial Col- Sarajevo, analyst for the European Stability ed security sector reform (SSR) in Kosovo at lege Press. His main interests include ethnic Initiative in Vienna, and advisor to the Deputy the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and complet- relations, conflict prevention and resolution, Slovak Foreign Minister (2010-12). ed a European Commission-funded research diplomacy and regional cooperation. stay in Pristina in 2010. She has published widely on the EU’s role in the world with a focus on EU peacebuilding and statebuilding in transitional societies, including the governance of rule of law and SSR, as well as on EU crisis management in the Western Balkans. 89 9 LACK OF ENGAGEMENT? SURVEYING THE SPECTRUM OF EU MEMBER STATE POLICIES TOWARDS KOSOVO Introduction IOANNIS ARMAKOLAS AND JAMES KER-LINDSAY Kosovo’s declaration of independence, This report examines Kosovo’s relations This report tries to delve into the reasons Secondly, engagement is best thought of in February 2008, resulted in a deep with these four broad categories of states. why the nine EU members addressed here as a spectrum, rather than neat categories. division within the European Union. In doing so, it shows that even within have chosen the positions that they have, Just consider the non-recognisers and en- While 23 members recognised Kosovo, these groups – what we can roughly term and what Kosovo can do to engage with gagers. There are considerable differences five refused to accept its statehood. At ‘recognisers and engagers’, ‘recognisers them more effectively. In doing so, two in how Greece, Slovakia and Romania all the time, many observers expected the but non-engagers’, ‘non-recognisers important and related points emerge. interact with Kosovo. Moreover, it is im- non-recognisers to fall into line eventu- but engagers’, and ‘non-recognisers and The first is that recognition, while im- portant to bear in mind that countries can ally and accept Kosovo. However, in the non-engagers’ - there are significant portant, is not everything. Engagement move along the spectrum. The position decade since then, that has not happened. variations in how states behave. For ex- also matters. What is more important, taken by a state today is not necessarily If anything, the picture has become more ample, even those states that recognise a country that recognises Kosovo, but going to be the position it adopts tomor- complex. Rather than two distinct camps, Kosovo, and have done a lot to support it then has little to do with it, or a country row. It can become more engaged, just as four broad groups now exist. First, there in the past, may now be far less engaged that does not recognise it, but maintains it can become less engaged. Rather than are the countries that have recognised than they once were. Also, whereas some active economic, political and social re- trying to move countries from non-rec- Kosovo, and have forged meaningful re- counties that have always been hostile to- lations? All too often the emphasis is on ognition to recognition, Kosovo should lations with it. These include Britain and wards Kosovo have seen their positions the former, rather than the latter.