The Washington Agreement: A Supplementary Document to the EU Efforts in Kosovo?

This paper analyzes the Washington Agreement (WA) in the context of European Union (EU) efforts to facilitate the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. The starting point is based on the idea that EU-led negotiations seek consensus between leadership in Belgrade and Pristina, as opposed to unilateral or imposed solutions. The central question is as follows: is the WA a supplementary document to the Brussels process? While certain points of the agreement are a mere repetition of previous agreements signed by the two parties, the agreement commits Kosovo to the mini-Schengen and brings a novelty into the dynamics of the Belgrade-Pristina relationship, such as in the case of the joint management of Gazivode/Ujmani lake. With a new Kosovar government, the mini-Schengen point, together with the point of Kosovo and Serbia’s pledge to open/move embassies to Jerusalem, remains the most contested part of the Agreement. Finally, the two sides have reaffirmed their commitment to western values and agree to become less dependent on Russia’s energy and China’s technology supplies.

U.S. President Trump (C), Kosovar Prime Minister Hoti (R) and Serbian President Vucic (L), sign an agreement on opening economic relations, in Washington, D.C., on September 4, 2020. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images