Kosovo, a country built upon the highest modern democratic standards as outlined by the Ahtisaari Plan has sometimes been unfortunately referred to as a “NATO state”. This is a term initiated by Serbian nationalistic leaders, such as Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, and then channeled to uniformed media sources commenting on the situation in Kosovo.

The term refers to the creation of the state, which began with NATO military intervention in 1999 aimed at bombing Serbian military targets and halting the crackdown and ethnic cleansing by Serbian forces on Kosovar Albanian civilians.

However besides NATO’s current presence as a security force in Kosovo, the country’s recently established constitution containing the Ahtisaari Plan, allows for it in actuality to represent a unique “EU state”. This is not to say that Kosovo is a member of the EU, rather just a country representing the values and guidelines included within the EU framework. (Hence an EU state, not an “EU member state”) The European Union allows for its member states to maintain their national character and culture while at the same time loosely identifying themselves as “Europeans”. The same exists in Kosovo, where approximately 95% of the population is Albanian, 3% Serbian, yet the overarching term that all inhabitants of Kosovo could identify with is Kosovar.

Many of the specifics of this Kosovar identity, and the rights included for all Kosovars are included within the Constitution of Kosovo. Usually the majority population in a country is very reluctant to compromise, especially with a sensitive topic such as national identity. So then, how could Kosovar Albanians concede their right to identify simply as Albanian; the answer is that this was a necessary and sufficient condition to ensure their internationally recognized independence. The Serbian minority on the other hand has rights which in some instances go beyond those of other minorities and even the Albanian majority. Certainly, the Albanians in Southern Serbia do not enjoy the same rights as their Serbian counterparts in Kosovo.

If all of Kosovo’s inhabitants are not accepting of this “independence plan”, can it work, or will it “fail” and will Kosovo not be able to resemble an EU state? Albert Rohan, former deputy UN mediator for the Kosovo status recently stated that “if Serbs continue refusing to cooperate, a great deal of the Ahtisaari plan, particularly decentralization, will be impossible to implement.” Let us not however confuse this topic with that of Kosovo’s independence, as Kosovo’s sovereignty is definite and irreversible, trust this because it is coming from someone not lobbying for votes in Serbia’s upcoming elections. For the independence plan to work however, Serbian inhabitants of Kosovo must realize what is most beneficial to them. Kosovo offers them special rights guaranteed by the constitution, a guaranteed 10 seats in Parliament reserved for Serbian representatives as well as national characters and symbols which aren’t inherently Albanian and therefore cannot in any way be identified as discriminatory. In fact, these neutral symbols may be most discriminatory and not representative for the Albanian majority itself.

Kosovo has been offered modern, Western European solutions to the age-old rivalry between Albanians and Serbians which was best characterized by the continuous persecution of Kosovar Albanians. The best option for the Serbs would be to accept their citizenship as Kosovars because all nationalistic propaganda aside, Belgrade will not be particularly inviting for these Serbs in the long run. A debate is going on in Kosovo on whether the country should have compromised so much towards the Ahtisaari plan if the prime beneficiaries have not themselves been welcoming of it? Well, the hope is that Kosovo’s Serbs will soon realize what they could compromise by ignoring this internationally sponsored UN plan. This realization will ensure that Kosovo will bring to life the constitution she recently adopted and truly exhibit an EU state.

Therefore foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was quite wrong when he stated recently that Kosovo has divided Europe. Instead Kosovo will really test whether Europeans are united in buying into the multi-ethnic or “European” identity they themselves have been pushing for, a question sensitive for several member nations and a compromise being realized in Kosovo. The democratic, and inherently slow processes, which are going on around the world towards recognizing Kosovo’s independence should realize Kosovo’s sui generis case and its legitimate existence as a sovereign, multi-ethnic, and EU state.