Kosovo’s early elections are reviving its ‘war’ and ‘peace’ camps

Kosovo is due to hold early elections on 11 June, following a vote of no confidence in the government. Krenar Gashi writes that the elections have encouraged a recalibration of Kosovo’s party system, with the revival of the division between so called ‘war’ parties and ‘peace’ parties that has its roots in the aftermath of the Kosovo War in the late 1990s

Mediation through recontextualization : The European Union and the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia

The EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina has been hailed as a major achieve- ment for the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy as well as for the ‘European future’ of Kosovo and Serbia, since it started in 2011. Looking at EU discourse – speeches, statements and press releases – this article problematizes the logic of the dialogue, its aims in the process and its outcomes. Using the framework of ‘recontextualization’, developed by Van Leeuwen and Wodak, we explore how the EU is substituting elements of the dialogue and adding elements that are not intrinsic to the process, which then create ambiguities which we problematize. We argue that ambiguities are not limited merely to the outputs of the dialogue, such as agreements, but they also obscure the very meaning of the dialogue for the EU, for Kosovo and Serbia, as well as for EU’s relations with both countries

Experts react: EU Enlargement and EU progress reports 2016

What does the future hold for EU Enlargement? Our contributors reflect on this year’s European Commission reports on the progress achieved by EU candidate and potential candidate countries, framing it within the wider political and economic context of each country. (If you are interested in how this compares to last year’s reports, the 2015 expert reactions are available here). Eli Gateva on Macedonia: The Commission abandoned its diplomatic tone and delivered a damning diagnosis Esra Özyürek on Turkey: Was this the very last enlargement report for Turkey? Jasmin Mujanović on Bosnia and Herzegovina: The report reflects a disconnect between Brussels’ rhetoric and the reality in BiH Tena Prelec on Serbia: Perpetual electoral haggling is arguably real progress Krenar Gashi on Kosovo: Still far from membership, but catching up with the neighbours Petar Marković on Montenegro: Speed-wise the unchallenged champion of accession negotiations, but implementation in key areas is still lacking Andi Hoxhaj on Albania: There is a good chance of opening accession negotiations over the next yea

Experts react: EU progress reports 2014

On 8 October, the European Commission released its annual reports on the progress achieved by EU candidate and potential candidate countries. Experts on the seven countries for which reports were issued give their responses below to the key points raised for each state. James Ker-Lindsay on Serbia: “It’s time to start building a new state” Krenar Gashi on Kosovo: “Same alarms, no surprises” Will Bartlett on Bosnia and Herzegovina: “Deep frustration at political stalemate” Kenneth Morrison on Montenegro: “The road to the EU may take longer than expected” Cvete Koneska on Macedonia: “The report’s criticism is unlikely to be taken seriously by the government” Joanna Hanson on Albania: “Moderate progress, but strong criticism of the parliament persists” Didem Buhari-Gulmez on Turkey: “Substantial problems with human rights, rule of law, corruption and governance” Can Karahasan on Turkey: “Economic development is hampered by political tensions

Kosovo elections: has everything changed?

A quick overview of the aftermath of Kosovo Parliamentary Elections of June 8, 201