Ilir Deda

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has mobilized the transatlantic community to address the unresolved issues, with destabilizing potential, in Southeast Europe. The EU-sponsored and US-supported Kosovo-Serbia “Basic Agreement” is expected to upgrade/normalize the relationships between the two and to advance security and stability in the Western Balkans. The prevalent thinking is that the Basic Agreement will enable a more predictable relationship between Serbia and Kosovo, paving the way for accelerated regional cooperation and integration, while fully anchoring the Western Balkans with the EU and the West. The work will also focus on whether this deal has strengthened democratization or authoritarian tendencies in the region.