European Forum

After ICJ opinion on Kosovo: Serbia continues its battle

On 26 July, after more than 11 hours of debate, the Serbian Parliament adopted a resolution which calls on the Serbian government to continue its efforts to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. On 28 July the Serbian Mission at the United Nations submitted a draft resolution on Kosovo to the UN General Assembly, which states among others that “unilateral secession is not an acceptable manner of solving territorial disputes”.

Furthermore the draft resolution proposes that the UN General Assembly should adopt conclusion related to the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and calls for dialog as a manner to find mutually acceptable solutions “for all open issues”, including the status of Kosovo. Finally it is stressed in the resolution that “considering that the ICJ did not confirm a right of Kosovo Albanians to secede from Serbia”, secession is unacceptable.

Confrontation with the EU
Diplomats from the countries that have recognised Kosovo are surprised by the content of the draft resolution, arguing that Serbia is heading for a confrontation with the EU in the UN General Assembly in September. In the Serbian media warning words of the British Ambassador to Serbia Stephen Wordsworth circulate that a confrontation between the EU and Serbia is not wise, since both Serbia and Kosovo would be an EU member. Especially the part of the draft resolution concerning unilateral secession not being acceptable is a thorn in the flesh of the countries that have recognized Kosovo.

Opportunity
Some EU member states are in favour of speeding up Serbia’s EU accession in the wake of Belgrade’s loss at the ICJ. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that Belgrade deserved a message of encouragement, such as the European path remaining open with no further pre-conditions. His Austrian counterpart, Michael Spindelegger, suggested some concrete movement on Serbia’s accession prospects: “the important thing for Serbia is that we make their prospect of progress towards Europe concrete.” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton downplayed the idea of any quid pro quo for Belgrade’s loss at the ICJ. Some analysts have argued that the difficult situation Serbia finds itself in can be seen as opportunity to make huge and concrete steps towards EU membership. It is argued that President Tadic now at least can say that everything has been tried in Kosovo: war, blockades and a long diplomatic fight. This could be the right moment to let go Kosovo and focus completely on EU integration.

New recognitions and consequences
It is expected that the ICJ opinion will result in a new wave of recognitions of Kosovo, although it is not sure if this will be enough for Kosovo to become an UN member. Meanwhile the EU remains divided. Five EU countries that have not recognised Kosovo (Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Greece and Cyprus) stated that they will not change their position, though they will be constructive and support the European perspective of the region.

As expected, separatist regions around the world have welcomed the ruling of ICJ. In their analysis many world media outlets argued that Kosovo could be a bad precedent. It is argued by many that if you have the big powers backing your secession, the recognition of independence will surely happen. In the end, legitimacy is enforced by power.

Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić met in New York on 29 July with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the Serbian draft resolution on Kosovo.

Source: B92, BIRN, EUobserver, Radio Slobodna Evropa and NRC