The only thing Serbia mustn’t take is 30 silver coins for Kosovo - hopefully it won’t happen, but if some of Serbian Quislings try, he should be sent to accompany the Mother of all Serbian Quislings - Sjindjic.

BTW, I never ceased boycotting Slovenian goods - except of four pair of socks my wife bought at bargain without paying attention to the manufacturer. I hope I’ll live to see the day all Slovenian investments in Serbia are overtaken and Slovenians face closed doors everywhere in Serbia.

@Krajnc B.: You have a valid point there! And by the way, welcome to the blog

However, it is the final sentence that illustrates our differing takes on the subject. You say: “Why should any of these countries go about joining the EU in a normal way when so much more can be gained by just causing trouble?”

Firstly, as far as I know, joining the EU is not seen as number 1 priority in Serbia and most people are convinced they are better off outside the union. But, if I go along with this premise and a deal were struck and Serbia received some sort of compensation (not just a promise of potential EU membership, but something tangible, as in… well… money), I’d think the other countries could view it as:

“Life in peace and joining the EU are so important to Serbia that it is willing to let go of a part of its territory (ok, that’s been lost demographically a long time ago) and not cause trouble in return for EU membership.”

“I do hope that they offer Serbia what its people will consider fair compensation for lost territories and resources.”

What you are saying is that Serbia is somehow entitled to those territores and resources. By extention this means that Serbia should be compensated for the loss of the Adriatic coast (both Croatian and Montenegrin), Lake Bled and Krško Nuclear Power Plant - to name but a few….

I also understand (and to an extent agree with) your statement that the last thing that is needed is to pour salt on their wounds. However - may I remind you that if we follow your line of thought, other countries - against which Serbia waged war (be it directly or by a proxy) can claim damages from Serbia whose leadership inflicted many wounds to the peoples of Yougoslavia, with the deepest ones not even close to being healed… Not to menition that pussyfooting around Serbia means pouring salt on wounds Serbia inflicted on Croatia and especially Bosnia-Herzegovina.

There is no nice way of doing this and the apparently inevitable independence of Kosovo is only the final stage of dissolution of Yugoslavia. It is paintful, yes - and perhaps I can ever be persuaded that Slovenia should take its time with recognising Kosovo (although there are other aspects which in my opinion make an immediate recognition desirable) - but what message is the EU sending to Turkey, Macedonia, Bosnia and, yes, Croatia, if it gives Serbia prefferential treatment? Why should any of these countries go about joining the EU in a normal way when so much more can be gained by just causing trouble?