Dimitris Kouimtsidis
PEDRO Sanchez will be the first Prime Minister in Spanish history to have taken part in a European Summit that also includes Kosovo.
Spain is one of the five EU member states, along with Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Slovakia that do not recognise Kosovo as an independent state.
For Spain, that’s because of the issue of Catalunyan independence, with the Government worried that examples like Kosovo – which hasn’t got the green light from Belgrade – will set a dangerous precedent for Spanish unity.
Spain’s position has always been the same, that if Belgrade and Pristina come to a unilateral agreement about an independent Kosovo, then Madrid will recognise its independence, but so far that has not happened, with Serbia still claiming the territory as its own.
At a previous Summit held two years ago in Bulgaria, the former PM, Mariano Rajoy, refused to attend – even though he was in Sofia at the time – with his chair being left empty.
But now due to the coronavirus crisis, the Summit will be held via video conference and Sanchez has agreed to attend on certain conditions.
The use of the Kosovo flag and any official terms will not be used, achieving symbolic progress, ironically, without any symbols.
No leaders will have their flag present in the background of their office and when they’re invited to speak, they will say their names but not their title or the country they represent.
