The outlook for Serbian Politics in 2023
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Loading... - Dora Cakic
- 16 Feb 2023
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One Serbian proverb says: After morning, one can tell how the day will look like. So, if we take 2022 for a morning, it is obvious that stormy day is ahead of us. The Kosovo and Metohija issue, the war in Ukraine, pressure to impose sanctions against Russia, relations with major powers, European integration, energy stability and preparation for the next winter – each of these issues will be crucial political moments in 2023.
Introduction
The year behind us left us in legacy numerous unresolved and difficult issues that could represent a great burden to Serbia in the coming period, and all that we will all face with. All of these issues unfortunately are two faced. There is a face of interest and face of pressure which make these issues even more burdensome.
The interest of the West is to bring the Kosovo and Metohija “problem” to an end, i.e. calming the tensions in this part of Europe, the struggle for make their influence even more significant, the interest in bringing Serbia closer to the EU, of course under Brussels’ conditions…
On the other hand, there is pressure, again regarding Kosovo, regarding making final decision on imposing sanctions against Russia, regarding energy products and their procurement…
The Kosovo problem: Pressure to accelerate dialogue with Priština
By now even the biggest doubting Thomas has realized that all Serbian problems begin and end with the “solution” of the Kosovo and Metohija problem. It is a key obstacle for Serbia’s further progress towards the EU, its full membership, and overall relations with Brussels. The Franco-German proposal that recently came into the spot confirms that after many “attempts” of solving this decades-long issue, the West is on the offensive and no longer wants to leave anything to chance[1]. In other words, the expectations of the Serbian Western “partners” regarding Kosovo are extremely high. Read More…
