The Phantom Papers That No One In The Western Balkans Will Own Up To Writing
April 29, 2021 10:17 GMT
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In recent weeks, there have been two so-called non-papers on sensitive political issues that have whipped up part of the Western Balkans into a state of frenzy.
What’s different about these discussion papers, compared to the ones that usually swirl around the corridors of Brussels, is that very few, if any, European politicians and diplomats seem to actually possess this pair of documents.
This indicates a couple of things: that things appear to be moving in the region, especially between Serbia and Kosovo, and that someone either wants to test the waters with various ideas or, perhaps more sinisterly, wreck things.
The EU, France and Germany have distanced themselves from reports of a deal that would see Serbia and Kosovo recognise each other s sovereignty.
Media reports in Pristina had claimed that Berlin and Paris had led discussions on an agreement between the two.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after a brutal war between separatist ethnic Albanian rebels and Serb forces. Belgrade refuses to recognise it and solving this issue is key if either wants to join the EU.
The deal was reportedly recorded in a non-paper , an EU term for an unofficial document shared confidentially between governments or institutions.
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