Bieber criticizes the EU: Kosovo has been rewarded little for developing democracy

The Director of the Center for Southeast European Studies, Florian Bieber, said that Kosovo has been rewarded little by the European Union for the strong democracy it has developed. In a discussion on the PIKË podcast with the publicist Veton SurroiBieber stated that in the region, Kosovo has shown the most willingness to strengthen democracy.

Surroi raised an important question, considering the situation in Kosovo as difficult to advance further in strengthening electoral democracy and the effort to build a functional democracy, while it is considered as “rocking the boat”. 

Bieber, for his part, acknowledged that it is paradoxical that in the last decade many countries in the region have become less democratic, while Kosovo has shown positive development in this regard. He emphasized that the changes in government and the functioning of elections are evidence of a strong democracy, but added that Kosovo has gained few rewards from this advancement. According to him, autocrats, such as Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, use this as an opportunity to criticize and exploit the shortcomings of democracy in the region, presenting Kosovo as a “fool” who makes compromises and gets nothing in return.

Bieber considered it a big mistake for the European Union to invest in autocrats and stressed that rewarding those who threaten the international order and ignoring trusted friends, as in the case of Kosovo, is a wrong policy. He closed the discussion by emphasizing that ultimately, this brings great uncertainty and not a real benefit for countries committed to stability and democracy.