Aleksandar Vucic: The War Criminal Shaping EU-Kosovo Relations

The EU's cowardice in empowering Vučić, a war criminal and Putin's ally, undermines Kosovo's sovereignty. Kosovo must open the bridge, defying European appeasement.

In yet another baffling display of bureaucratic ineptitude, the European Union has found itself entangled in the complex web of Balkan politics, this time over the reopening of the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica. Once a symbol of division, the bridge now stands as a potential link for peace and cooperation in Kosovo. However, the EU's insistence that this matter be resolved through dialogue with Serbia has sparked outrage.

Aleksandar Vucic, the former propaganda minister under Slobodan Milosevic’s genocidal regime, remains a central figure in these negotiations. His controversial past includes justifying the Srebrenica massacre and rationalising the genocidal actions in Kosovo. This move by the EU has been met with sharp criticism, most notably from Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani, who staunchly opposes making Kosovo’s internal affairs a subject of dialogue with Serbia.

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A French soldier, a member of KFOR, NATO's peacekeeping force in Kosovo, watches the "Bridge Guards"—an illegal, informal Belgrade-run parallel structure—through binoculars. This scene unfolds a year before Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, five years after the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 2003. North of the Ibar River bridge, which slices through the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, the scene is one of deceptive normalcy. Residents meander along the pedestrian street, frequenting outdoor cafes, enjoying coffee, and basking in the warm morning light. This series of photographs documents the moments before unrest, following the Serbian organization Tsar Lazar's Guard’s warning of a protest on October 14, 2007, against Kosovo's quest for independence. (Photograph by Vudi Xhymshiti, via VX Pictures)