Commentary
Democratic Security
Bulgaria Votes – Russia Hopes for a New Orbán
16 April 2026
22 February 2023
The slow-brewing rift between the Berlin-Paris axis and American visions regarding the security strategy in Eastern Europe is best seen in the Western Balkans.
In addition to enthusiastic American support for Warsaw (even under the current regime), the Americans are now taking a new lead regarding Kosovo-Serbia tensions.
Escalation of the frozen conflict between Serbia and Kosovo revealed, once again, the EU’s inability to manage or contain the issue – either to force Serbia to recognise Kosovo, or to force Kosovo to respect its international commitments and cease with repressive policies.
So far, the EU’s decade-long crisis management, led primarily by Berlin, has yielded no definitive results. The newest German and French proposal to settle the issue once and for all seems to be unacceptable to Kosovo and deeply humiliating for Serbia. And all this comes at a time when the EU’s appeal is slowly dwindling in the region.