Czech Republic – Kosovo relations
Encyclopedia
Czech–Kosovan relations are foreign relations between the Czech Republic
and the Republic of Kosovo
. Kosovo
declared its independence
from Serbia
on 17 February 2008 and Czech Republic recognized
it on 21 May 2008. The Czech Republic opened an embassy in Pristina
on 16 July 2008.
declared independence from Serbia
on 17 February 2008, the Czech government
initially declared that they would not immediately recognise Kosovo as an independent state, instead the Czech Republic would wait for the European Union
to come up with a common stance towards the declaration. It became clear shortly afterwards that the EU would have no common stand on recognition of Kosovo due to objections from members such as Spain
, Romania
, Greece
, and Slovakia
. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg
then announced that the Czech Republic would take a wait and see approach; they would observe how many nations
recognise Kosovo, and the way in which the Kosovo government
behaves.
Prior to the 17 February declaration, the Czech Social Democratic Party
and Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
signaled their opposition to recognizing any unilateral declaration by Kosovo. Shortly after the declaration they stayed true to their pre-declaration words, with the two parties proclaiming a similarity between Kosovo's declaration and the 1938 Munich Agreement
. President Václav Klaus
also sympathised with the Serbian side, saying that the Czech Republic "must take into account the traditional friendly relations between the Czech and Serbian nations" and that the Serbian nation "has always sided with us in time of difficult historic trials".
Meanwhile, early supporters of recognising Kosovo as an independent state included Alexandr Vondra
, the Minister of European Affairs. Vondra predicted that the Czech government would eventually recognise Kosovo, saying "It is sort of like dancing on eggshells, it is like handling a powder keg. In situations like this, I think it is better to be really careful. We will wait, we will evaluate the situation; there is no hurry. It will certainly not happen this week but let's be realists – we certainly won't wait for six months." Both Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek
and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg eventually declared their support for recognizing Kosovo. Topolánek tried to get recognition through the cabinet of the Czech government just prior to the NATO summit in Bucharest
. However, his attempt was unsuccessful because a significant part of the governing Civic Democratic Party opposed recognition.
According to an opinion poll published in early April 2008, 53% of a polled population believed that the independence declaration against Serbia's wishes would have negative consequences for stability in the Balkans
, while 67% of them did not think that independence would help normalise relations between Serbs
and Albanians
in the slightest bit, but will rather exacerbate them further. Finally, 36% opposed Kosovo's unilateral independence declaration, 34% supported it, while the remaining 30% were undecided.
Encouraged by the results of the May 2008 parliamentary elections in Serbia
in which the For a European Serbia
coalition did much better than expected, previously skeptical ministers of the Czech government reconsidered their positions and began to support recognition of Kosovo. It is important to note that the For a European Serbia coalition is opposed to the unilateral declaration by the Kosovo government, however it also wants Serbia to join the EU. After three months of debate, on 21 May the Czech Republic recognised Kosovo as an independent nation because recognition will strengthen "the overall stability in the region" the government said.
After the recognition was announced by the Czech government, Serbia responded by recalling its ambassador from Prague
. This was not an unusual move as, in an act of protest, Serbia had pulled all of their ambassadors from nations which recognized Kosovo. Before the Serbian ambassador left Prague, he met with President Václav Klaus
. After the meeting Klaus said that he was especially alarmed by the words of Serbian Ambassador Vladimir Vereš that Serbs had not taken it personally when Kosovo was recognised by countries such as Finland
and the Netherlands
, but that they were hurt by the action of the Czech government. Klaus also said that he felt ashamed because of the Czech government's decision. As regards the opposition, their members still insisted that the recognition "is a shame and a violation of international law". Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, while admitting the decision is unpopular in some quarters, defended the government's decision by saying that independent Kosovo was a reality and Czech diplomacy would now be able to pursue active policies not only toward Kosovo, but also toward Serbia.
A month after recognising Kosovo as an independent state, this was still a hot political issue and the government was still advocating their decision from the opposers' critique. On 16 July 2008 the Czech government upgraded their liaison office in Pristina to an embassy led by a chargé d'affaires. Belgrade also announced that its ambassadors will return to the EU countries that recognised Kosovo. The ambassador to the Czech Republic returned on 3 August 2008.
According to a poll published in July 2008, 30% of the polled population agreed with the government's decision to recognise independent Kosovo, 31% opposed it, and 39% were undecided.
In March 2009, Vice President of the Czech parliament Vojtěch Filip
stated that, after voting down the Czech minority government, the possibility arises of reexamining Prague's decision to recognize Kosovo's unilateral proclamation of independence. The now deposed Czech government had acknowledged Kosovo's independence despite the opposing viewpoints of the majority of parliamentary groups and the Czech's President, which is why there is a possibility of reexamining the disputable decision, the Vice President told a Frankfurt daily paper. Filip said that he will initiate the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo, which is, according to him, legally possible because the procedure of its full recognition in Czech has not yet been formally completed. However, on March 31, 2009, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Zuzana Opletalová, denied any such "de-recognition" moves and reiterated the official Czech position that the recognition of Kosovo is a finished and irreversible act.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and the Republic of Kosovo
Republic of Kosovo
Kosovo , officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognised state and a disputed territory in the Balkans...
. Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
declared its independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
on 17 February 2008 and Czech Republic recognized
International reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by the Assembly of Kosovo with a unanimous quorum. All 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings...
it on 21 May 2008. The Czech Republic opened an embassy in Pristina
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
on 16 July 2008.
Reaction to independence
When KosovoKosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
declared independence from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
on 17 February 2008, the Czech government
Politics of the Czech Republic
Politically, the Czech Republic is a multi-party parliamentary representative democratic republic. According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic, the President is the head of state while the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising supreme executive power...
initially declared that they would not immediately recognise Kosovo as an independent state, instead the Czech Republic would wait for the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
to come up with a common stance towards the declaration. It became clear shortly afterwards that the EU would have no common stand on recognition of Kosovo due to objections from members such as Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg or Karel, Prince of Schwarzenberg , 7...
then announced that the Czech Republic would take a wait and see approach; they would observe how many nations
International reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by the Assembly of Kosovo with a unanimous quorum. All 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings...
recognise Kosovo, and the way in which the Kosovo government
Politics of Kosovo
The Politics of Kosovo takes place in a framework of a multi-party parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Kosovo is the head of government, and the President of Kosovo is the head of state. Executive power is exercised by the Executive of Kosovo. Legislative...
behaves.
Prior to the 17 February declaration, the Czech Social Democratic Party
Czech Social Democratic Party
The Czech Social Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic.-History:The Social Democratic Czechoslavonic party in Austria was founded on 7 April 1878 in Austria-Hungary representing the Kingdom of Bohemia in the Austrian parliament...
and Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia , abbreviated to KSČM, is a political party in the Czech Republic. It has a membership of 82,994 and is a member party of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left bloc in the European Parliament...
signaled their opposition to recognizing any unilateral declaration by Kosovo. Shortly after the declaration they stayed true to their pre-declaration words, with the two parties proclaiming a similarity between Kosovo's declaration and the 1938 Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
. President Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...
also sympathised with the Serbian side, saying that the Czech Republic "must take into account the traditional friendly relations between the Czech and Serbian nations" and that the Serbian nation "has always sided with us in time of difficult historic trials".
Meanwhile, early supporters of recognising Kosovo as an independent state included Alexandr Vondra
Alexandr Vondra
Alexandr "Saša" Vondra is a Czech politician, who currently serves as the Senator from Litoměřice and the nation's Minister of Defence. He is also a Deputy Chairman of the Civic Democratic Party...
, the Minister of European Affairs. Vondra predicted that the Czech government would eventually recognise Kosovo, saying "It is sort of like dancing on eggshells, it is like handling a powder keg. In situations like this, I think it is better to be really careful. We will wait, we will evaluate the situation; there is no hurry. It will certainly not happen this week but let's be realists – we certainly won't wait for six months." Both Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek
Mirek Topolánek
Mirek Topolánek is a former prime minister of the Czech Republic and former President of the European Council. A member of the Civic Democratic Party, he was chairman of the center-right party between November 2002 and March 2010, succeeding Václav Klaus, who was elected President in 2003.On 24...
and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg eventually declared their support for recognizing Kosovo. Topolánek tried to get recognition through the cabinet of the Czech government just prior to the NATO summit in Bucharest
2008 Bucharest summit
The 2008 Bucharest Summit or the 20th NATO Summit was a NATO summit organized in Bucharest, Romania on 2 – 4 April 2008. Among other business, Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance. Republic of Macedonia was not invited due to its ongoing naming dispute with Greece...
. However, his attempt was unsuccessful because a significant part of the governing Civic Democratic Party opposed recognition.
According to an opinion poll published in early April 2008, 53% of a polled population believed that the independence declaration against Serbia's wishes would have negative consequences for stability in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, while 67% of them did not think that independence would help normalise relations between Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
and Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
in the slightest bit, but will rather exacerbate them further. Finally, 36% opposed Kosovo's unilateral independence declaration, 34% supported it, while the remaining 30% were undecided.
Encouraged by the results of the May 2008 parliamentary elections in Serbia
Serbian parliamentary election, 2008
A pre-term parliamentary election was held in the Serbia on 11 May 2008, barely a year after the previous parliamentary election. There were 6,749,886 eligible electors who were able to vote in 8,682 voting places, as well as 157 special voting places designed for refugees from...
in which the For a European Serbia
For a European Serbia
For a European Serbia – Boris Tadić is an electoral coalition that won the Serbian parliamentary election, 2008, Vojvodina parliamentary election, 2008 and Serbian local elections, 2008...
coalition did much better than expected, previously skeptical ministers of the Czech government reconsidered their positions and began to support recognition of Kosovo. It is important to note that the For a European Serbia coalition is opposed to the unilateral declaration by the Kosovo government, however it also wants Serbia to join the EU. After three months of debate, on 21 May the Czech Republic recognised Kosovo as an independent nation because recognition will strengthen "the overall stability in the region" the government said.
After the recognition was announced by the Czech government, Serbia responded by recalling its ambassador from Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. This was not an unusual move as, in an act of protest, Serbia had pulled all of their ambassadors from nations which recognized Kosovo. Before the Serbian ambassador left Prague, he met with President Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...
. After the meeting Klaus said that he was especially alarmed by the words of Serbian Ambassador Vladimir Vereš that Serbs had not taken it personally when Kosovo was recognised by countries such as Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, but that they were hurt by the action of the Czech government. Klaus also said that he felt ashamed because of the Czech government's decision. As regards the opposition, their members still insisted that the recognition "is a shame and a violation of international law". Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, while admitting the decision is unpopular in some quarters, defended the government's decision by saying that independent Kosovo was a reality and Czech diplomacy would now be able to pursue active policies not only toward Kosovo, but also toward Serbia.
A month after recognising Kosovo as an independent state, this was still a hot political issue and the government was still advocating their decision from the opposers' critique. On 16 July 2008 the Czech government upgraded their liaison office in Pristina to an embassy led by a chargé d'affaires. Belgrade also announced that its ambassadors will return to the EU countries that recognised Kosovo. The ambassador to the Czech Republic returned on 3 August 2008.
According to a poll published in July 2008, 30% of the polled population agreed with the government's decision to recognise independent Kosovo, 31% opposed it, and 39% were undecided.
In March 2009, Vice President of the Czech parliament Vojtěch Filip
Vojtěch Filip
Vojtěch Filip is a Czech politician and leader of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia.-Biography:Vojtěch Filip was born in 1955, in a small village called Jedovary near České Budějovice...
stated that, after voting down the Czech minority government, the possibility arises of reexamining Prague's decision to recognize Kosovo's unilateral proclamation of independence. The now deposed Czech government had acknowledged Kosovo's independence despite the opposing viewpoints of the majority of parliamentary groups and the Czech's President, which is why there is a possibility of reexamining the disputable decision, the Vice President told a Frankfurt daily paper. Filip said that he will initiate the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo, which is, according to him, legally possible because the procedure of its full recognition in Czech has not yet been formally completed. However, on March 31, 2009, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Zuzana Opletalová, denied any such "de-recognition" moves and reiterated the official Czech position that the recognition of Kosovo is a finished and irreversible act.