Violence in northern Kosovo: The United States’ failed bet on Serbia
Western sponsors of the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade are wrong to believe Serbia will work to make a success of diplomacy
Experts & Staff
Engjellushe Morina
Senior Policy Fellow
Areas of expertise
Western Balkans politics, economics, and sociology; Euro-Atlantic integration; violent extremism; peacebuilding and conflict transformation, dialogue, and mediation
Languages
Albanian, English, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, conversational German, and some French
Biography
Engjellushe Morina is a senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. She works from ECFR’s Berlin office.
Morina has more than 18 years’ experience of research on, and fieldwork in, the Western Balkans, Euro-Atlantic integration, peacebuilding and conflict transformation, violent extremism, and dialogue and mediation. Prior to joining ECFR, she developed and led collaborative research projects on violent extremism and managed other initiatives such as a 1.5 track dialogue in North Macedonia. During the high-level negotiations over Kosovo’s political status led by President Marti Ahtisaari, she served as an expert and consultant in the Cultural Heritage group within the Unity Team (2005-2007). Her work focused on the protection of Cultural and Religious Heritage in Kosovo. Morina co-founded and ran the Pristina Council on Foreign Relations. She was the executive director of Kosovar Stability Initiative and worked for the US Embassy in Pristina. Morina has also conducted fieldwork in Egypt, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan.
Morina holds degrees from University College London (Institute of Archaeology), Oxford University (Somerville College), and the Hertie School of Governance, in Berlin.
The politics of dialogue: How the EU can change the conversation in Kosovo and Serbia
A new agreement between Kosovo and Serbia is a welcome step – but the EU can transform the situation by setting out clearer accession prospects for both countries
The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue: How the EU can lead
ECFR’s recent mini-series sheds light on the issues in the dialogue process by identifying both pitfalls and opportunities
Power of need: Energy security in the Western Balkans
Western Balkans states need to join the EU’s energy transition. They can do so in several ways.
Enlarged and in charge: Why the EU needs a new approach to accession
The EU’s enlargement policy will only remain effective if it judiciously manages its relations with Western Balkans countries
Russia, Ukraine, and the Orthodox church: Where religion meets geopolitics and war
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Bound to Russia: Serbia’s disruptive neutrality
The deepening relationship between Belgrade and Moscow has long created unease across the Balkans. By refusing to condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine, Serbia has proven once again that it is a liability to the EU and NATO.
Small but complex: Montenegro’s minority government and the EU’s role in democratic reform
The recent collapse of Montenegro’s ruling coalition creates both risks and opportunities for democratic reform. The EU needs to help the country’s interim minority government resist Serbian and Russian influence.
28 Oct
Kosovo-Serbia Relations: The Circle of (Dis)Trust and (Un)Equality /Belgrade Security Forum 2021/
After more than eleven years of the EU facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, this process could be described as “one step forward, two steps back”. The seriousness of challenges that constantly emerge in relations between Kosovo and Serbia shows that despite the goodwill and dedication of the Western stakeholders, domestic democratic capacities, nationalistic politics, geopolitics, and third players hinder the possibility of reaching a comprehensive solution.
Germany’s new government: Promising signs for Western Balkans EU integration
The emerging ‘traffic-light’ coalition government should recognise the dangers ranged around the EU on its Western Balkans borders – and help move EU integration along for the region’s states
Publications
The politics of dialogue: How the EU can change the conversation in Kosovo and Serbia
A new agreement between Kosovo and Serbia is a welcome step – but the EU can transform the situation by setting out clearer accession prospects for both countries
The path to recognition: Kosovo’s and Serbia’s evolving dialogue
The solution to the dispute between Kosovo and Serbia should be to create a societal consensus on both sides of the border
Articles
Violence in northern Kosovo: The United States’ failed bet on Serbia
Western sponsors of the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade are wrong to believe Serbia will work to make a success of diplomacy
The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue: How the EU can lead
ECFR’s recent mini-series sheds light on the issues in the dialogue process by identifying both pitfalls and opportunities
Power of need: Energy security in the Western Balkans
Western Balkans states need to join the EU’s energy transition. They can do so in several ways.
Enlarged and in charge: Why the EU needs a new approach to accession
The EU’s enlargement policy will only remain effective if it judiciously manages its relations with Western Balkans countries
Russia, Ukraine, and the Orthodox church: Where religion meets geopolitics and war
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Bound to Russia: Serbia’s disruptive neutrality
The deepening relationship between Belgrade and Moscow has long created unease across the Balkans. By refusing to condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine, Serbia has proven once again that it is a liability to the EU and NATO.
Small but complex: Montenegro’s minority government and the EU’s role in democratic reform
The recent collapse of Montenegro’s ruling coalition creates both risks and opportunities for democratic reform. The EU needs to help the country’s interim minority government resist Serbian and Russian influence.
Germany’s new government: Promising signs for Western Balkans EU integration
The emerging ‘traffic-light’ coalition government should recognise the dangers ranged around the EU on its Western Balkans borders – and help move EU integration along for the region’s states
How Macron can strengthen the EU in the Western Balkans
France has blocked progress on enlargement in the Western Balkans. In the Biden era, Emmanuel Macron should think again about bringing the region into the EU
Kosovo snap election: A chance for action
The results of this week’s election could be transformative for Kosovo – but the challenges facing its new leaders are daunting
Events
28 Oct
Kosovo-Serbia Relations: The Circle of (Dis)Trust and (Un)Equality /Belgrade Security Forum 2021/
After more than eleven years of the EU facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, this process could be described as “one step forward, two steps back”. The seriousness of challenges that constantly emerge in relations between Kosovo and Serbia shows that despite the goodwill and dedication of the Western stakeholders, domestic democratic capacities, nationalistic politics, geopolitics, and third players hinder the possibility of reaching a comprehensive solution.
11 Dec
In the media
That hands-off approach carries risks, said Engjellushe Morina, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations
Morina Engjellushe comments on the current violence in Kosovo and its links Serbia´s foreign policy
Morina Engjellushe comments tensions in Kosovo in this interview with Pierre Mirel
[The election] was very badly managed by the Americans and the Europeans
Engjellushe Morina on the municipal elections in Northern Kosovo
The problem that turned into violence at the beginning of the week is the result of the tension that has accumulated since the summer of 2022
Engjellushe Morina talks about the renewed tensions in the north of Kosovo
Normalization is going to be very hard, and maybe even impossible, with this kind of attitude
Engjellushe Morina, expert on the Western Balkans, comments on Russia’s “hybrid occupation” of Serbia, which threatens to derail its peace plan with Kosovo