28 May 2019 – Two prominent politologysts, Stefan Surlić and Igor Novaković, had a three-session presentation, with an objective assessment of the benefits of the implementation of technical agreements on the everyday life of citizens of Kosovo, with a special focus on the positive impacts that it had on the Kosovo Serb community. The presentation, which is part of the activity organized within the project Promoting and Communicating Benefits of the Kosovo-Serbia EU Facilitated Dialogue, took place in the Civic Energy Center in North Mitrovica and included young people from Belgrade and North Mitrovica.

During the presentation different perspectives on the Kosovo Serbia dialogue were discussed and presented. One of the key outcomes of the sessions concluded that the main consequence of implementation of technical agreements was that they opened communication channels among communities in Kosovo. Even though the results were quite modest, they were a huge step in favor of allowing Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians to recover from the wounds of the war, ease the tensions and slowly, step by step, distance themselves from the nationalistic narratives.

In the presentation it was stated that despite the fact that technical agreements were burdened by the political weight and narratives of the dialogue, practical consequences and, thus, benefits for the population of Kosovo and Serbia brought by the implementation of agreements outweighed political discourses. Though not all of the agreements were implemented in the full capacity, if we compare the state of affairs in Kosovo before and after 2011, major steps towards normalization of ethnic relations in Kosovo were made.

The presentation itself included an encompassing and overall analysis of all technical agreements signed by Belgrade and Prishtina in the process of the Brussels dialogue, facilitated by the EU. After listing and explaining all the technical agreements, two lecturers focused on the period before the Brussels dialogue framework was established, followed by an overview of the process that lead to these agreements. Consequently, lecturers focused on the process of the implementation of technical agreements, while pointing out its positive impact, especially its influence on Kosovo Serb community. The audience had the chance to share their opinion on this matter, as well to discuss the topic with lecturers.

The activity is part of the Promoting and Communicating Benefits of the Kosovo-Serbia EU Facilitated Dialogue project financed by the European Union.

This presentation was organised with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of are the sole responsibility of Kosovo-Serbia Policy Advocacy Group Consortium and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.