41054 - Serbian proposals

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Athina Kehagias

At this point of time, Serbia makes new efforts regarding Kosovo. She realizes that she has an objective problem she hadn’t properly taken into account initially and she had underestimated it. So she thought that she could opt for a territorial exchange , more specifically with regards to the northern part of Kosovo and the southern part of Serbia. She tries to somewhat passively utilize the fact that there are Serbs in the first area while Kosovars in the second. In other words, her approach is ethnologically based. And so in other words, it accepts that there is a reality which is independent of its politics. However, it seems that on the side of Kosovo, the perception isn’t quite the same. Because they see things somewhat more expansionary. The issue of Southern Serbia isn’t enough for them, as they consider it for granted. But instead, they would like to hold on to even the Serbian region, because it is relatively close to Albanian access. Consequently Serbia consciously, or at least the soft part of it which is ready, or it’s accepting the new bare facts, now wants to make an even more peculiar exchange, ie, she wants to take back the northern part of Kosovo in exchange for Kosovo’s official recognition by Serbia. We observe therefore, a strategic mix, but in a passive form which could allow Serbia to simultaneously overcome other difficulties in regards to her accession pathways. The only problem is, whether this approach is indeed that of the Serbian nation, or merely of the current government. Consequently we once again see an issue which could lead towards a referendum within the region.