Regional Conference Draws Mixed Reactions

While the summit ended with a joint declaration of the regional leaders affirming their commitment to membership in the EU, Slovenia’s Prime Minister Borut Pahor did not hide his dissatisfaction at the absence of some invitees from the region, Brussels and Madrid.

Despite diplomatic efforts to convince him to attend, Serbian president Boris Tadic refused to participate in the gathering due to a dispute over the manner in which the Kosovo delegation was to be represented. Serbia asked that Kosovo be represented under the banner of Kosovo-UNMIK, while Pristina officials said that they would participate as representatives of a 'sovereign country'.

Tadic’s refusal to attend the meeting also had a wider effect, with invited high-ranking politicians including the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Angel Moratinos choosing not to travel to Slovenia.

The gathering, entitled "Together for the European Union: The Contribution of the Western Balkans to the European Future", was set to be the first meeting of all the political leaders in the region in 18 years.

"The doors of dialogue remain open also for those who are not with us here today," Slovenian PM Pahor said.

Croatian news agency Hina quoted sources in the Croatian government which said that "the absence of Boris Tadic was a marginal question and the conference managed to affirm regional cooperation and the commitment of the region to the membership in the EU."

Albanian PM Sali Berisha said on his arrival that it was "regrettable" that President Tadic wasn't in attendance, while stressing that it was "definitely a very important meeting."

Addressing reporters after the summit, Pahor and his Croatian counterpart, Jadranka Kosor, emphasised the importance of mutual recognition among Western Balkan countries, hailing the progress made in this respect and labelling the meeting a success.

Kosovo’s PM Hashim Thaci also marked the meeting as an important achievement. “The joint declaration signed at this meeting was a commitment of countries to help each other and increase inter-state cooperation," Thaci said.

Regarding the absence of Serbian President Boris Tadic, Thaci said that Serbia would recognise Kosovo's independence "sooner or later,” and that Kosovo would participate in all regional meetings as a sovereign and independent country.  

Serbian FM Vuk Jeremic called Thaci's statement a “complete absurdity,” and said that “the stance of the current Serbian state administration and every future one is clear, precise, and unchangeable.”

“Under no conditions, whatever they are, will we recognise Kosovo's independence,” Jeremic stressed in an interview with Serbian broadcaster RTS.

At the same time, Croatia's Kosor acknowledged the gesture made by the the Chairman of Bosnia's Council of Ministers, Nikola Spiric, who attended the summit despite the fact that his country has not recognised Kosovo. Spiric walked out the conference room right before Thaci rose to speak.

Spiric said afterwards that the Western Balkan summit was a failure, adding that is not something that should be promoted.

Spiric’s presence at the summit and his boycott of Thaci’s speech provoked different reactions in Bosnia. While most Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and Bosnian Croat representatives said that Spiric had provoked a “diplomatic scandal”, Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik praised him for “sending a clear message to Europe”.

“Spiric went so that [Bosniak member of Bosnian Presidency] Haris Silajdzic would not go and thus Spiric was able to do what he did – walk out of the room when that Albanian was speaking,” Dodik said.

A day after the meeting, the headlines in the Serbian press read: "A Real Debacle at Kranj" and "Organisers' Diplomatic Fiasco".

FM Jeremic said that the conference did not meet the expectations set for it. Reiterating Serbia's reasons for not participating in the summit, Jeremic expressed his hope that there would be other opportunities for such conferences at which he hoped that there would be greater success in showing the fact that “our united goals of joining the EU are clear.”

“We all want a peaceful, prosperous Balkans that is integrated into the European Union,” broadcaster RTS quoted him as saying.

Political analysts are also split on whether the conference could be deemed a success.

Analyst Borut Zitnik told Slovenian television that the meeting was a failure as it hinged on the ability to get both Belgrade and Pristina to attend.

Zarko Puhovski, a professor of political philosophy in Zagreb, told daily Danas that the meeting in Kranj was neither a success nor a debacle. "It will remain a meeting not out of the diplomatic average if it is not interpreted as an introduction to the further process of establishing regional cooperation," the daily quoted him as saying.