DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY in Southeastern Europe, No 1

The Lead Story
Cha lle nges of Ko so vo ’s
Eu ro a tla ntic Inte gra ti on
The "Ame ri can Co nne cti on"
in Ko so vo
38
By Agron Bajrami
EU LEX is yet to show to
Ko so va rs if it re ally me ans
bu si ness
The author is the edi tor in
chi ef of the „Ko ha Di to re” da ily
ne wspa per in Ko so vo
Si nce the be gi nni ng of the 1990s, all Ko so var Alba ni an
le ade rs ha ve co nti nu ou sly expre ssed the ir encha ntme -
nt wi th the No rth Atla ntic Tre aty Orga ni za ti on and
dre amt of the day when Ko so vo wo uld jo in the We -
ste rn Alli ance ’s ra nk and fi le. For Ko so vo, be co mi ng
pa rt of NA TO as we ll as of the Eu ro pe an Uni on, was
pa rt of a po li ti cal and se cu ri ty vi si on indi spe nsa ble for
bu ildi ng a We st-ori ented and de mo cra tic so ci ety in a
co untry whe re the ove rwhe lmi ng ma jo ri ty of the two
mi lli on po pu la ti on are ethnic Alba ni an, mo st of them
se cu lar Mu sli ms. From Ko so vo ’s hi sto ri cal le ader and
fi rst Pre si de nt, Ibra him Ru go va, to the cu rre nt he ad of
sta te Fa tmir Se jdiu and Pri me Mi ni ster Ha shim Tha çi,
all ha ve expli ci tly and wi tho ut any do ubts on ma ny occa
si ons sta ted that be co mi ng pa rt of NA TO is not only
Ko so vo ’s aim, but also its de sti ny.
Wi th Ko so vo de cla ri ng inde pe nde nce on Fe bru ary 17 th
2008, the dre am of jo ini ng NA TO and other We ste rn
stru ctu res be ca me a re ali stic po li ti cal aim. It is se en as
fe asi ble wi thin a few ye ars, espe ci ally si nce NA TO itse -
lf has a pe rma ne nt pre se nce in Ko so vo and, si nce Ju ne
1999, its KFOR mi ssi on se rves as Ko so vo ’s de fa cto
army. The go ve rnme nt’s NA TO aspi ra ti ons — echo ed
fre qu ently by le ade rs such as Pre si de nt Se jdiu who re -
ce ntly de cla red NA TO me mbe rship to be pa rt of Ko -
so vo ’s vi si on for the fu tu re 1 — also enjoy gre at su ppo rt
amo ng the abso lu te ma jo ri ty of pe ople in Ko so vo. Whi -
le mo st Ko so vo Alba ni ans co nti nue to be de eply su spi -
ci ous of the EU due to what they see as its re pe ated
hi sto ri cal fa ilu re to he lp them in the ir qu est for fre -
edom and inde pe nde nce , the abso lu te ma jo ri ty has ve -
ry wa rm fe eli ngs to wa rds NA TO, re ga rdless of the fa ct
that ma ny of the NA TO co untri es are at the sa me ti -
me EU me mbe rs, and NA TO ’s po li cy to wa rd inde pe -
nde nt Ko so vo is as “sta tus ne utral” as that of the EU.
It is not at all di ffi cu lt to unde rsta nd why NA TO has
such hi gh sta ndi ng amo ng Alba ni ans in Ko so vo: after
all, this Alli ance did enter its fi rst war in de fe nse of Ko -
so vo and its pe ople. In 1999, in what was la ter du bbed
as a “hu ma ni ta ri an inte rve nti on”, NA TO fo ught a 78-
day lo ng air war aga inst Se rbia – na med “Ope ra ti on
Alli ed Fo rce” – be ca use of Be lgra de ’s co nti nu ous and