German expert shows where Europe wrong when Kosovo dialogue started

This is said by German analyst Bodo Weber, stressing that although the details of the agreement are not known, the framework is clear either side must engage not to block each other on the road to the EU, reports “92”, Periscopi broadcast.

“Given that Serbia is much closer to EU membership than Kosovo, this means that Serbia will have to commit not to block Kosovo's EU membership, which is the scenario with which Serbia will enter the EU, as a full member, so it will not be able to change politics and prevent Kosovo's entry into the EU once Kosovo meets conditions for it,” said Bodo Weber, senior associate of the Berlin Democratic Policy Council.

According to him, “in principle, not surprising” that Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq earlier revealed to the interior public that Serbia before joining the EU must, in addition to other conditions, sign a legally binding document for normalising relations with Pristina.

He believes that Vucinqi's announcement of such an agreement did not fall in due time by chance, given that he was in Brussels earlier, but stresses that “ai is not sure he dictated such a statement in Brussels or Washington”.

Weber predicts that the negotiating framework for a future binding legal agreement will go towards resolving all open issues, including border issues and border regimes between Belgrade and Pristina, property problems, as well as a full international guarantee for Kosovo, including membership in the United Nations.

In this context, he adds, Belgrade will present its ideas on how it can meet this framework without knowing Kosovo.

Weber believes that such a binding agreement should be removed after the new phase of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue has not yet begun, as well as Germany, as an important player throughout the process, is completely lacking because there is not yet a new government, and it will most likely not. By the beginning of next year, there cannot be a new German government.

Weber recalled that the April 2013 agreement was officially designated as the first agreement, in the context of the conditions German Chancellor Angela Merkel had decided in 2012, including the removal of so-called parallel institutions, known as Serbia's “state institution in Kosovo”.

“Considering that we have seen two presidential rounds of dialogue in Brussels since mid-2007, I think it is clear that the EU wants to speed up the process and realised that implementation of the April agreement was very slow, the crisis began and therefore the dialogue will accelerate within the already announced new phase, which will precisely target this final binding agreement.“, said Weber.

Vuciq said earlier that the EU would not allow Serbia to become a full member of the EU without a legally binding document at the end of the process of normalising relations with Pristina./Periscopi/