Stalling on a process that never happened: A review analysis of the border agreement between Kosovo and Montenegro

May 8, 2018

Authors

Perparim Kryeziu
administration reform, public policy, welfare policy and socio-economic development

Three years had passed since state representatives of Kosovo and Montenegro signed the agreement on state border between the two states during the Western Balkans Summit. The respective delegation deemed the agreement as an important event not only for the two parties involved, but also for the entire region, as it marks the path towards Euro-Atlantic integration . Nevertheless, the very agreement that was applauded during the Summit was met with fierce criticism and public dissatisfaction among both citizens and opposition parties in Kosovo, manifested by mass public protests and unorthodox means of political opposition . Allegedly, the original agreement fails to accurately distinguish the border line, leaving around 8200 hectares of Kosovar territory outside its jurisdiction. These allegations had been strongly disregarded, at times arrogantly so, by the previous State Commission for Demarcation and Maintenance of State Borders, as well as former Prime-Minister Isa Mustafa and former First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, currently President, Hashim Thaci. They continually disavowed any possibility that such alleged outcome could have resulted from the agreement. A three year-long political stalemate over the matter had been established, while both internal and external pressure for a solution continued to rise.

Policy Analysis

Stalling on a process that never happened: A review analysis of the border agreement between Kosovo and Montenegro

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