Foreign Affairs Committee on June 2nd, 2026

[Krenare Recaj]

I think that is a fair conclusion. I don't think that precludes looking at opening an embassy in Kosovo as well. We're the only G7 country without an embassy in Kosovo. Although I would never think to discredit the amount of work that gets done by the ambassador of Canada to Kosovo, who was on the panel before mine, there is a limitation to how much you can get done through a cross-appointed embassy without an in-residence ambassador.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

You suggested in your testimony, by the way, that Canada should advocate for decoupling Kosovo's European Union aspirations from the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Is that based on your view that the coupling of those two issues provides an incentive for one of the state parties to continue to meddle in the other state party in order to prevent accession to the European Union?

[Krenare Recaj]

It is based on that. It's also based on the history. The last five to 10 years have shown that Serbia's government continues to be intransigent towards the European and international communities and towards Kosovo itself. This means that we've been in the same talks without making progress, and the Government of Serbia uses it as an excuse to hold over the relations with Kosovo.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Dr. Percival, do you share that view as well?

[Valerie Percival]

I perhaps have a broader perspective. I would say that Kosovo owes it to its Serbian minority population to ensure that they have safety and security. The current government of Prime Minister Kurti—who I met when he was first released from prison 20 years ago—has not fulfilled its share of the obligations in terms of the protection of Serbian communities.

However, I also agree with my colleague that the role of Serbia in intervening in Kosovo is long-standing, and the current government in Serbia has definitely continued, and perhaps accelerated, that tradition.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Can you speak a bit about the national security and defence dimensions of Serbia with respect to NATO and with respect to Russia? I understand that there is some military co-operation going on between Serbia and NATO. Can you speak to that a bit and also speak to whether there's any military co-operation going on between Serbia and the Russian Federation?

[Krenare Recaj]

In the previous panel, there was mention of a recent NATO exercise done with Serbia. All of these are efforts to have Serbia turn towards the west instead of Russia. As I and other experts would point out, Serbia does this very intentionally. They will flirt with both sides. They will take part in these exercises and say what they need to to western countries, but they will still have their ties to Russia—Russian oil. Continued rhetoric by the government and public polling of the citizens show that they will continue to flirt with the Russian side.

There are activities going on with the west and co-operation with the west, but I don't think that reflects an actual and lived turn towards the western nations.

[Valerie Percival]

This is a bit out of my area of expertise, but I would note that one of the side effects of the conflict in Ukraine I think has been a general weakening of Russia's ability to exercise its influence with Serbia. That presents an opening for countries like Canada.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

I'll just say that several years ago, I read a book by Tim Butcher called The Trigger, and it was a real reminder of how history is so present in that region of the world. It was just something to note.

I appreciate your answers.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

I will go next to MP Vandenbeld.

You have six minutes.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of our witnesses. I wish we had a lot more time with all of you. I have questions for each of you, but I'd like to start with Ms. Berishaj-Sylejmani.

Maria, it's good to see you again. You spoke a lot about women, peace and security, and we know that the former Yugoslavia is a very good example of both the worst and the best when it comes to that. I'd look at the Dayton accord as a bad example. There were no women involved in that, and some of the instability of that accord is probably a factor now. I note what you said about the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo and the lack of women there—that we don't want history to repeat itself.

You said there needs to be more investment. One of your recommendations was that Canada provide more support for women, peace and security efforts going on in the region. I know there have been a lot of spontaneous platforms where women in Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia have come together on their own in order to facilitate dialogue in ways that the formal processes may not have been able to do.

I wonder if you could talk a bit more about what Canada could do to support that.

[Maria Berishaj-Sylejmani]

Thank you, MP Vandenbeld, for your question. It's so good to see you.

That's an excellent question. You pointed out, rightly so, that even during the 1990s, when there was a lot of ethnic tension, and also during the war, women's civil society organizations from both Kosovo and Serbia never actually stopped co-operating and participating. They basically kept the bridges of co-operation and communication open between the two societies.

You rightly pointed out that this is something we should still be focusing on and investing in. That is the first thing. This is the fourth pillar of Resolution 1325, which is on prevention. More investment in talks and dialogue among civil society organizations from both Kosovo and Serbia would bring us closer to peace.

On the other hand, it is very important, as I mentioned, that Kosovo is developing a program for gender equality, and one of the pillars will be Resolution 1325. It is very clear, with objectives, time frames and what needs to be done. Looking at that program, it's very important that the country knows what it wants to achieve. Basically, it's about designating what is important in the program and supporting it—with support to women's participation in the security sector, in the security force and in police—and also supporting dialogue among Kosovo women, Albanian women and Serb women.

We also have to take into consideration—somebody rightly said this before—that we need to support dialogue among women from different communities in Kosovo, because this would also bring us peace, create trust and, in the long run, create more sustainable peace for Kosovo.

I'll add one more thing, because you also asked what would be interesting for Canada to invest in, besides these things. When it comes to countering disinformation and foreign influence, media literacy programs and independent journalism are two very important programs in which Canada can invest. There are also the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and the network of women journalists, which can be part of this support because they can help counter disinformation and bring more stability to the region.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you so much for that.

I know I don't have much time.

Dr. Percival, you said there was an era when Canada punched above its weight, particularly in Kosovo. You said that engagement can enhance our status and can prevent conflict. Do you think Canada should be doing more in the region, with more offices, a diplomatic presence or perhaps more engagement with multilateral organizations like the OSCE and others? Do you think we should do more?

[Valerie Percival]

I would agree that we definitely should do more. There was a question about embassies in the region. I think we could learn a lot from fellow countries that have a lighter footprint.

When we open an embassy, it's very expensive. We could have a lighter footprint and still have a lot of influence. One example is secondments to the OSCE. Questions were raised about cybersecurity and other forms of countering foreign interference. Those are all areas where Canada has tremendous expertise.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you.

Ms. Recaj, you said that you had some concrete steps that Canada could take, and you ran out of time. Could you please tell us those?

[Krenare Recaj]

I mentioned that Canada is the only country without an embassy, so that's a concrete step.

My second recommendation was about capitalizing on goodwill and engendering more goodwill among the Kosovo government and Kosovo citizens. An example of that is visa liberalization. It's been two years since the EU liberalized visas, and although there have been some minor drawbacks, overall it's been a success. The problems that were forecasted never came to fruition. Canada could engender goodwill with the country and have more influence through EU visa liberalization.

Also, as both you and my colleague Valerie Percival mentioned, we should give funding for paying secondments and make sure that we aren't the only country among our allies that doesn't have the same status within things like the OSCE.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

Before I turn to Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe, I will ask Vice-Chair Michael Chong to chair the rest of the meeting. I have to be back in the chamber to speak to a private member's bill that I'm sponsoring.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Brunelle‑Duceppe, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Vice‑Chair.

I hope Mr. Hussen will not bring shame upon the committee when he makes his statement in the House of Commons.

Ms. Percival, you said in your opening remarks that we cannot forget our principles in the current geopolitical context given that, according to some experts, there is currently a kind of powder keg in the Balkans, in the heart of Europe.

What did you mean when you said that we must not forget our principles?

[Valerie Percival]

That would be the principles of balancing the importance of civilian protection and national security, of focusing on human rights and of understanding how Canada can advance our own national interests while also ensuring that we are building peace and stability in the region and have a comprehensive approach.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

The fact that you are asking this question means that, to some extent, you fear that we might forget our principles. What is the basis for your fear? Is it based on government actions, positions or simply inaction?

[Valerie Percival]

I don't think we have necessarily lost our principles, but I am concerned about the current global environment and the current focus on national security. While I support fully the importance of supporting our military, increasing that support and using our military assets in places like Bosnia and Kosovo, I am concerned that when the focus is on building Canada strong, we forget about our obligations globally. That is my concern.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

For example, don't you see the fact that the government has slashed its international aid as a problem for certain programs, which may have had or will no longer have a concrete impact in the region we are discussing today?

Cuts to international aid are not limited to Canada. The United States has slashed the USAID program, and a number of European countries and Japan have also made cuts. We're seeing a kind of an international trend where many governments are spending more on defence, but cutting their international aid budgets. In our opinion, these should be two separate budget envelopes, which are not interrelated.

Don't you see such budget cuts to these programs as a problem that could, unfortunately, have harmful consequences?

[Valerie Percival]

I have written about my concern about the decline in development assistance globally, including in areas like the Balkans. Development assistance is a tool that helps us project soft power and support for diplomacy. In the last budget, there was a decrease in support for Global Affairs Canada, and we have not yet fully seen what the consequences of that decrease will be in terms of our diplomatic footprint. It is a concern that I share.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

We know that the Balkans are home to a diversity of peoples, as well as languages, religions and traditions inherited from the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. You have demonstrated that quite eloquently.

In your opening remarks, you said that the region has always been a barometer. To what extent, even today, are the Balkans still a barometer? Was this barometer more important at one time than it is today? Do you still see a connection today? If the past is any indication of the future, is this barometer still as relevant?