http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15756946
Failed Balkans summitry Shan't!
Serbia ruins an attempt at western Balkan unity
Mar 21st 2010 | From The Economist online
BRDO castle, in the middle of Slovenia, has played
host to a number of important events in recent Balkan history. In 1980,
Marshal Tito, Yugoslavia's leader, suffered a stroke there and died soon
afterwards. In April 1991, the leaders of the six constituent Yugoslav
republics met at the castle in a vain attempt to avert their doomed
country's descent into violence. This weekend their successors
reconvened, along with the prime ministers of Kosovo and Albania, to
show the world-or rather the European Union-how committed they are to
good neighbourly relations.
The happy occasion was to be blessed by Herman Van
Rompuy, the new president of the European Council, and Miguel Ángel
Moratinos, foreign minister of Spain, which holds the EU's rotating
presidency. But proceedings were torpedoed by a last-minute decision by
Boris Tadic, Serbia's president, to boycott the meeting because of the
presence, on equal terms, of Kosovo. Brave faces all round could not
hide the failure.
Tadic stays at home
The summit was the result of a warming of relations
between Slovenia and Croatia. After spending much of the last year
squabbling over a maritime border, the two countries agreed, in
November, to put the case to arbitration. Today, says Danilo Turk,
Slovenia's president, "there is almost an explosion of happiness between
Croatia and Slovenia." What better way to celebrate this lovefest than
for the two countries to invite the leaders of all the other former
Yugoslav states, and Albania, to commit publicly to work towards their
common future in the EU?
The sticking point, as so often, was Kosovo. Ever
since the former Serbian province declared independence in February
2008, Serbia, which regards Kosovo as its historic heart, has been
fighting to keep its independence from becoming diplomatic fact. Helped
by powerful states like Russia and China, and, within the EU, Spain,
Serbia has kept Kosovo out of the UN and many other international
organisations. It has also brought the case of Kosovo's declaration of
independence to the International Court of Justice in The Hague; a
ruling is expected later this year.
The two countries have nevertheless adopted a
relatively grown-up attitude towards meeting together, give or take the
odd tantrum. One successful format involves ensuring that delegates do
not use national nameplates, allowing them to sit in the same room
together. Balkan-watchers hoped that a similar pragmatism would prevail
in Brdo.
The problem was the high profile of the summit. Brdo
presented Mr Tadic with a dismal choice. Had he attended, Serbs at home
would have seen images of him sitting around a small table with Hashim
Thaci, Kosovo's prime minister, with the implication that the pair were
talking as equals. But staying away would have only enhanced Serbia's
international image as a recalcitrant regional bully that refuses to
accept the reality of Kosovo's independence. In the end Mr Tadic decided
that domestic needs trumped statesmanship, and stayed at home. Mr Van
Rompuy and Mr Moratinos then pulled out themselves, fatally undermining
the meeting.
By wrecking the Brdo summit, Mr Tadic won a battle,
but he cannot win the war. Smarting from its humiliation, Slovenia's
government may choose to take revenge by slowing the EU's integration
process with Serbia. Later this year, a major EU-Balkans summit is
planned in Sarajevo, and the EU is increasing pressure on the states of
the region to improve their mutual relations. If Serbia stays away
again, the consequences could be grave. Many powerful voices in the EU,
including Germany's ruling Christian Democrats, want to see a long pause
in enlargement for "digestion" once the EU takes in Iceland and Croatia,
possibly in 2012. They won't mind a bit if Mr Tadic insists on putting
Kosovo before Europe. If that happens, Serbia, which long ago lost
Kosovo, may lose the Europe. |