The Shapes of Neutrality. EU Enlargement, Engagement and Kosovo’s European Path
The article examines the European Union’s neutrality toward Kosovo’s statehood and its influence on the EU’s enlargement process and engagement strategy in view of internal divisions among the EU Member States over Kosovo’s recognition. It assesses how the EU’s mantra of neutrality shapes the dimens...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
|
| Series: | European Journal of Risk Regulation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X2500025X/type/journal_article |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849232993013465088 |
|---|---|
| author | Dren Doli Zamira Xhaferri |
| author_facet | Dren Doli Zamira Xhaferri |
| author_sort | Dren Doli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article examines the European Union’s neutrality toward Kosovo’s statehood and its influence on the EU’s enlargement process and engagement strategy in view of internal divisions among the EU Member States over Kosovo’s recognition. It assesses how the EU’s mantra of neutrality shapes the dimensions of EU actorness, balancing differences among EU Member States while ensuring Kosovo’s inclusion in the EU enlargement process. Next, the article explores how the EU engages with Kosovo despite the lack of unanimous recognition of Kosovo’s statehood from five EU Member States, arguing that neutrality unfolds both as a legitimising principle and an authorisation mechanism. Our hypothesis is that neutrality has enabled Kosovo’s incremental involvement in the enlargement process without undermining the EU’s internal cohesion. Drawing on three illustrative examples, notably, the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the CJEU’s interpretation of EU-Kosovo SAA Agreement, the article demonstrates the variations of the concept of neutrality and its impact in maintaining Kosovo’s attachment to enlargement policy. The findings suggest that neutrality has been instrumental in authorising the EU missions in Kosovo and in sustaining Kosovo’s European trajectory. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a79396ff46144ff2a0e4df95750379f2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1867-299X 2190-8249 |
| language | English |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Risk Regulation |
| spelling | doaj-art-a79396ff46144ff2a0e4df95750379f22025-08-20T13:13:21ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Journal of Risk Regulation1867-299X2190-824911610.1017/err.2025.25The Shapes of Neutrality. EU Enlargement, Engagement and Kosovo’s European PathDren Doli0https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6188-8259Zamira Xhaferri1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7449-5788Faculty of Law, University of Prishtina, Prishtina, KosovaUniversity Lecturer EU Law/Jean Monnet Lecturer (Enlargeu), Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Research Affiliate of the Rule of Law Working Group of the Central European University Democracy Institute, Budapest, HungaryThe article examines the European Union’s neutrality toward Kosovo’s statehood and its influence on the EU’s enlargement process and engagement strategy in view of internal divisions among the EU Member States over Kosovo’s recognition. It assesses how the EU’s mantra of neutrality shapes the dimensions of EU actorness, balancing differences among EU Member States while ensuring Kosovo’s inclusion in the EU enlargement process. Next, the article explores how the EU engages with Kosovo despite the lack of unanimous recognition of Kosovo’s statehood from five EU Member States, arguing that neutrality unfolds both as a legitimising principle and an authorisation mechanism. Our hypothesis is that neutrality has enabled Kosovo’s incremental involvement in the enlargement process without undermining the EU’s internal cohesion. Drawing on three illustrative examples, notably, the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the CJEU’s interpretation of EU-Kosovo SAA Agreement, the article demonstrates the variations of the concept of neutrality and its impact in maintaining Kosovo’s attachment to enlargement policy. The findings suggest that neutrality has been instrumental in authorising the EU missions in Kosovo and in sustaining Kosovo’s European trajectory.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X2500025X/type/journal_articleEU actornessEU engagementEU enlargementKosovoStatehood |
| spellingShingle | Dren Doli Zamira Xhaferri The Shapes of Neutrality. EU Enlargement, Engagement and Kosovo’s European Path European Journal of Risk Regulation EU actorness EU engagement EU enlargement Kosovo Statehood |
| title | The Shapes of Neutrality. EU Enlargement, Engagement and Kosovo’s European Path |
| title_full | The Shapes of Neutrality. EU Enlargement, Engagement and Kosovo’s European Path |
| title_fullStr | The Shapes of Neutrality. EU Enlargement, Engagement and Kosovo’s European Path |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Shapes of Neutrality. EU Enlargement, Engagement and Kosovo’s European Path |
| title_short | The Shapes of Neutrality. EU Enlargement, Engagement and Kosovo’s European Path |
| title_sort | shapes of neutrality eu enlargement engagement and kosovo s european path |
| topic | EU actorness EU engagement EU enlargement Kosovo Statehood |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X2500025X/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT drendoli theshapesofneutralityeuenlargementengagementandkosovoseuropeanpath AT zamiraxhaferri theshapesofneutralityeuenlargementengagementandkosovoseuropeanpath AT drendoli shapesofneutralityeuenlargementengagementandkosovoseuropeanpath AT zamiraxhaferri shapesofneutralityeuenlargementengagementandkosovoseuropeanpath |