Policy Brief: Dialogue-induced Developments on the Ground - Analysis on implementation of the EU-facilitated agreements on freedom of movement and trade between Kosovo and Serbia

The EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia began in March 2011. In under three years, the dialogue has spawned a number of official agreements, changed from technical to political talks, and catalyzed discussion and cooperation between Kosovo and Serbia that would have been unthinkable years prior. The fact that high level politicians from Serbia and Kosovo have come together to hold talks and the agreements themselves represent groundbreaking steps in Kosovo-Serbia relations. Yet the key to a fruitful dialogue lies in the implementation of agreements. The successful implementation of agreements is necessary for normalizing the lives of citizens and is highly relevant to the EU integration processes of both Kosovo and Serbia. This policy brief analyzes early bird experiences with implementation of three key agreements – freedom of movement, customs and IBM – taking into consideration previous experiences with the flow of commodities and people between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as contemporary demands on economic and regional integration and cooperation. The brief also provides policy recommendations to all parties in diallogue. The policy brief was been written by cooperation of two think tanks InTER and the Group of Legal and Political Studies from Pristina, within the scope of the DGAP TRAIN program. On 11-14 November 2013 the policy brief has been presented in Brussels to representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament that are engaged in the dialogue or work on issues related to Serbia and Kosovo. In the following weeks the policy brief will be presented to national stakeholders, both in Serbia and Kosovo. More information about InTER’s participation in the DGAP TRAIN program is available on the Researches page.