Page 52 - bneMagazine March 2023 oil discount

52 I Southeast Europe bne March 2023
It's now 15 years since Europe's youngest country, Kosovo, declared its independence from Serbia back in 2008.
15 years after independence, is Kosovo on the verge of a breakthrough?
Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
Kosovo will mark the 15th anniversary of its independence from Serbia on February 17, amid verbal scuffles with Belgrade but with rising hopes that a final resolution between the two foes may be imminent.
Europe’s youngest country, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, has been held back in its quest to join the UN, the EU and other international organisations as it has not yet secured recognition from all states, including influential permanent UN Security Council members Russia and China.
Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo
as independent — in fact it has been actively lobbying states to de-recognise Kosovo — and has relied on its old ally Russia to keep Kosovo out of the UN. However, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine radically changed the geopolitical
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landscape of Europe last year, there is fresh pressure from the EU and US on both sides to reach a compromise.
Given the increased international pressure, the possibility of a compromise still exists, or else a more serious
conflict may arise given the geopolitical circumstances and the war in Ukraine.
an Association of Serb Municipalities, while Serbia must allow Kosovo to join international institutions.
Lost autonomy
Kosovo was a former province of Serbia, which was one of the six republics in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ). In 1974, Kosovo
“Given the increased international pressure, the possibility of a compromise still exists, or else a more serious conflict may arise”
EU and US officials say they expect a solution to be found by the end of this year, a difficult assignment for both Serbia and Kosovo, given that both sides have to make painful concessions; Kosovo has to allow the formation of
was granted full autonomy within the Yugoslav Federation.
After the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, when Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia declared independence, Kosovo