Kosovo’s Post-Status Status and the Status of EU Conditionality
Kosovo’s Post-Status Status and the Status of EU Conditionality

Summary/Abstract: On 24 October 2005, the UN Security Council decided to open the long-awaited negotiations on the future status of Kosovo before the end of 2005. Bypassing the inevitable setbacks and intricacies of the actual negotiation process that is nevertheless scheduled to take less than one year, the article analyses the outcome: Kosovo’s post-status status. The EU seems ready to take the lead in managing both the post-status status for Kosovo and the stabilisation and transformation process for the region of the Western Balkans as a whole. Yet, the past few months have seen unexpected but contradictory changes in the EU’s strategic approach. The assumed pull of the EU perspective is increasingly questioned and a decoupling of standards and status seems to have taken place not only for Kosovo but also for the region as a whole. The paper reflects on the new meaning of conditionality and the gaps in the EU’s strategic toolbox..

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