Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the invitation to speak.
My name is Krenare Recaj, and I am a doctoral candidate at Carleton University and junior fellow at the Bill Graham Centre at the University of Toronto.
Today, I will be discussing what I and numerous experts have identified as one of the most serious security concerns in the Balkans: the lack of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. I will argue that the west's current approach to this problem is flawed and conclude with recommendations for what Canada's role should be.
Since 2013, the governments of Serbia and Kosovo have been engaged in EU-mediated talks backed by the U.S., which led to what's known informally as the Brussels Agreement. This agreement ties the Euro-Atlantic integration of both countries to the normalization of relations between them. The pressure for normalization has intensified since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as western leaders seek to prevent another flashpoint in Europe. The most problematic aspect of this renewed push for normalization between these two countries is the extent to which western actors have accommodated President Vučić's government, treating him as the guarantor of regional stability.
Using the example of the Banjska terrorist attack of 2023, I argue that this approach of tying Kosovo's European future to normalization with Serbia does not produce stability. It produces the opposite, while unjustly tying the future of the citizens of Kosovo to the co-operation of a government that continues to perpetuate dangerous nationalist myths and inflame tensions.
To understand this example, some context is necessary. Serbia's approach to Kosovo is shaped by nationalist mythology rooted in long-standing history that has been weaponized to justify violence against Albanians, most devastatingly by Milošević in the 1990s. Crucially, as experts have pointed out, this mythology continues to be perpetuated by Vučić's government today.
In September 2023, more than two dozen heavily armed Serbian nationalist militants attacked Kosovo police officers in northern Kosovo, killing one. Although Serbia denied any involvement and continues to do so, the government declared a day of national mourning for the three attackers who were killed. State-aligned Serbian media portrayed them as martyrs, explicitly invoking anti-Albanian rhetoric and nationalist mythologies. The response by both the government and state-aligned media reflects the continuation of nationalist rhetoric directed at Albanians and defiance towards the international community.
Following this incident, the United States condemned the violence in general terms but called on both parties equally to refrain from actions that inflamed tensions. In doing so, it created a false equivalency. The EU's language was admittedly stronger, with a resolution explicitly stating that Serbian authorities were heavily involved and condemning the use of the attack to spread hostility toward Kosovo Albanians, yet none of this translated to policy change. The framework tying Kosovo's future to normalization with Belgrade remained intact.
Meanwhile, Kosovo has historically been one of the most pro-western countries in the world. Although this continues to be the case, there is growing frustration among both Kosovo's government and its citizens towards the EU and the United States. It is important to note that this frustration for the most part has not been directed at Canada, which has remained largely on the sidelines of the question of normalization between Serbia and Kosovo.
This brings me to my two recommendations.
First, Canada should use its voice within NATO and multilateral forums to advocate for decoupling Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic integration from normalization with Serbia. Kosovo's citizens, the vast majority of whom simply want security, economic opportunity and participation in the international community, should not have their future depend on the co-operation of a government that glorifies those who attack them.
Second, Canada should capitalize on the goodwill it has already earned among the government and people of Kosovo and take concrete steps to deepen its influence and presence in the region so that it's positioned to play a greater and more constructive role.
I'm out of time to go into the concrete steps, but I'm happy to address them in questions.