EU foreign policy and ‘perceived coherence’: the case of Kosovo

ABSTRACT

To what extent has the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy been coherent in the Western Balkans? Moreover, is EU policy behaviour seen as coherent by local stakeholders? Such questions are of high significance regarding the role of the EU as an external actor and with regard to the Western Balkans in particular. This article assesses EU policy coherence in the case of Kosovo, focusing on the latter’s EU accession prospects and the EU rule of law mission EULEX. Introducing the novel concept of ‘perceived coherence’, the paper argues that EU policies and actors are not perceived as coherent by both local elites and civil society organizations. As a result, the effectiveness of the implementation of the Union’s foreign policy in Kosovo remains low.

KEYWORDS:

• EU
• foreign policy
• Kosovo
• coherence
• policy effectiveness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. See ‘Communication: A Credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced enlargement with the Western Balkans’. Available from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/eu-western-balkans-strategy-credible-enlargement-perspective_en .

2. The five EU member states not recognizing Kosovo are Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Spain and Slovakia.

3. See Stabilization and Association Agreement between EU and Kosovo. Available from https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/kosovo/29175/stabilisation-and-association-agreement-between-eu-and-kosovo_en .

4. Council Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP of 4 February 2008 on the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, EULEX Kosovo.

5. See short history of EULEX by the EEAS. Available from http://www.eulex-kosovo.eu/?page=2,44,197.

6. See about the EU Office in Kosovo/EUSR. Available from https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/kosovo_cs/1386/About%20the%20EU%20Office%20in%20Kosovo%20/EUSR.

7. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

8. Author’s interview with EULEX Officer 1, 5 May 2017, Mitrovica.

9. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

10. Author’s interview with former EUSR, 31 March 2017, Brussels.

11. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 1, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

12. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

13. Council Decision (EU) 2016/342 of 12 February 2016 on the Conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Stabilization and Association Agreement Between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the One Part, and Kosovo*, of the Other Part, OJ (2016) L 71/1.

14. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

15. See EU Commission says Kosovo’s recognition is for member states published 12 February 2018. Available from https://euobserver.com/tickers/140949 .

16. See Article 47 of the Treaty on European Union.

17. See Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – Kosovo –fulfilling its European Perspective /* COM/2009/0534 final */.

18. Author’s interview with Bodo Weber, senior associate of the Democratization Policy Council, 26 September 2017, Brussels.

19. Author’s interview with Dren Doli, research committee and department member at Group for Legal and Political Studies, 3 May 2017, Pristina.

20. See Ulrike Lunacek, 31 October 2017. Ratify border demarcation with Montenegro. Kosovo Press. Available from http://www.kosovapress.com/en/news/lunacek-ratify-border-demarcation-with-montenegro-137485/ .

21. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

22. Author’s interview with Krenar Gashi, doctoral fellow at the Centre for EU Studies, Ghent University, co-founder of Sbunker NGO, 15 March 2018, Brussels.

23. Author’s interview with Kosovar Diplomat 2, 6 May 2017, Pristina.

24. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

25. Author’s interview with Krenar Gashi, co-founder of Sbunker NGO, doctoral fellow at the Centre for EU Studies, Ghent University, 15 March 2018, Brussels; Author’s interview with Besa Shahini, senior analyst at European Stability Initiative, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

26. Author’s interview with Besa Shahini, senior analyst at European Stability Initiative, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

27. Author’s interview with Dren Doli, research committee and department member at Group for Legal and Political Studies, 3 May 2017, Pristina.

28. Author’s interview with Dren Doli, research committee and department member at Group for Legal and Political Studies, 3 May 2017, Pristina.

29. Author’s interview with Bekim Collaku, former Minister of European Integration of Kosovo, 4 May 2017, Pristina.

30. Author’s interview with Krenar Gashi, co-founder of Sbunker NGO, doctoral fellow at the Centre for EU Studies, Ghent University, 15 March 2018, Brussels.

31. Author’s interview with Agon Maliqi, Kosovar writer, activist and consultant. Creator and co-founding editor of Sbunker NGO, 7 May 2017, Pristina.

32. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

33. Author’s interview with Kosovar Diplomat 1, 6 May 2017, Pristina.

34. Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States contributed to EULEX.

35. Author’s interview with EULEX Officer 2, 4 May 2017, Mitrovica.

36. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 1, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

37. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

38. Author’s interview with EULEX Officer 2, 4 May 2017 Mitrovica.

39. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

40. See ‘EULEX Mission. 2014. Joint Rule of Law Coordination Board presents the Compact Progress Report 2014’ Press Release 11 July. Available from http://www.eulex-kosovo.eu/en/pressreleases/0616.php .

41. Author’s interview with Bekim Collaku, former Minister of European Integration of Kosovo, 4 May 2017, Pristina.

42. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 1, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

43. Author’s interview with EULEX Officer 1, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

44. Author’s interview with Bekim Collaku, former Minister of European Integration of Kosovo, 4 May 2017, Pristina.

45. Author’s interview with Kosovar Diplomat 1, 6 May 2017, Pristina; Author’s interview with Judge at Kosovo Constitutional Court, 15 December 2017, via email.

46. Author’s interview with Kosovar Diplomat 2, 6 May 2017, Pristina.

47. EULEX Officer 1. Author’s interview, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

48. Author’s interview with Agon Maliqi, Kosovar writer, activist and consultant. Creator and co-founding editor of Sbunker NGO. 7 May 2017, Pristina.

49. Author’s interview with Krenar Gashi, co-founder of Sbunker NGO, doctoral fellow at the Centre for EU Studies, Ghent University, 15 March 2018, Brussels.

50. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

51. Author’s interview with Agon Maliqi, Kosovar writer, activist and consultant. Creator and co-founding editor of Sbunker NGO, 7 May 2017, Pristina.

52. Author’s interview with EU Office Officer 2, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

53. On 18 July 2018, the European Commission confirmed that Kosovo had fulfilled all required benchmarks of its Visa Liberalization Roadmap. See European Commission Press Release. Available from http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4562_en.htm .

54. Author’s interview with EULEX Officer 1, 5 May 2017, Pristina.

55. Author’s interview with EULEX Officer 2, 4 May 2017 Mitrovica.

56. Author’s interview with Kosovar Diplomat 1, 6 May 2017, Pristina; Author’s interview with Bekim Collaku, former Minister of European Integration of Kosovo, 4 May 2017, Pristina.

57. Author’s interview with Agon Maliqi, Kosovar writer, activist and consultant. Creator and co-founding editor of Sbunker NGO, 7 May 2017, Pristina.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Deniz Mutluer

Deniz Mutluer is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of International Relations, Bilkent University, Ankara. He holds M.A degrees from European Political and Governance Studies, College of Europe, Bruges and from International Affairs and Public Policy, Bilkent University, Ankara. Deniz worked as an EU Affairs Expert at the Ministry for EU Affairs of Turkey, seconded national expert at the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) of the European Commission and as a research assistant at the Department of International Relations, Hacettepe University, Ankara. His research interests include EU-Western Balkans and EU-Turkey relations.

Dimitris Tsarouhas

Dimitris Tsarouhas is Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations, Bilkent University, Ankara and 2018-2019 Visiting Fellow at the BMW Center for German and European Studies, Georgetown University. He was Department Chair from 2013-2016 and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Politics. His research on Comparative European Politics, EU-Turkey relations, public policy and IPE has been published, inter alia, in Regulation and Governance, New Political Economy, Public Administration, Comparative European Politics, Social Politics, Social Policy and Administration, Political Studies Review, Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.