Recognition of Kosovo: limitations of the GDR model

Uznanie Kosowa: ograniczenia modelu NRD

Abstract: Rosyjska inwazja na pełną skalę na Ukrainę w 2022 r. doprowadziła do ponownej oceny systemu stosunków międzynarodowych przez różnych aktorów międzynarodowych, od Chin po Unię Europejską (UE). Dla UE ponowna ocena oznaczała m.in. zwiększenie priorytetu integracji unijnej państw Bałkanów Zachodnich. Jednym z warunków pełnej integracji UE Bałkanów Zachodnich jest normalizacja stosunków między Serbią a Kosowem.
The Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to a reassessment of the system of international relations by various international actors, from China to the European Union (EU). For the EU, the reassessment meant, inter alia, the increase in priority of the EU integration of the Western Balkan states. One of the prerequisites for the complete EU integration of the Western Balkans is the normalization of the relations between Serbia and Kosovo. The importance of such normalization is reminiscent of the significance of the establishment of relations between FRG and GDR, in particular the 1972 Basic Treaty for the security and stability in Europe at the time of the détente (the GDR model). Given the pragmatic but reserved approach used in the 1972 Treaty, it was not surprising that the Treaty provisions were used in drafting the Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia. However, there are numerous crucial differences between the two situations, and a full understanding of such differences is critical for the implementation of the GDR model in the normalization of Serbia-Kosovo relations. In the article, some of the political, economic, religious, and legal factors differentiating the FRG-GDR situation from the Serbia-Kosovo situation are compared and analysed. Thus, the limitations of the GDR model will be determined as used for the Serbia-Kosovo normalization. Such determination will be useful in designing the future steps in the Serbia-Kosovo normalization.

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