German press on Kosovo and Serbia: Option for New Solution or chaos in Balkans

German media write about the demarcation of Serbia and Kosovo, interpreting it as a chance that the solution finally comes from the region and as a danger to chaos throughout the Balkans.

Andreas Ernst, an expert on the Balkans, says the new negotiation space has been opened by the White House, where Donald Trump's administration does not respect the old taboo.

He says EU Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn has rejected Chancellor Angela Merkel and her tough stance on not changing borders, saying this is a bilateral conflict and not a precedent for all disputes.

Discussing that there is a delay among the region's connoisseurs due to possible domino influence in Bosnia and Macedonia, Ernst says such tones have been heard by Republika Srpska without any consequence even with the case of Kosovo's declaration of independence.

While Carl Biltd, former Swedish Foreign Minister, says it has come up to “the idea of creating mono-ethnic countries in the Balkans”, but that according to him is an illusion, as the region's past has shown.

He believes Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq has a strong position in Serbia and has a lot of influence on the media, but that Kosovo's political system is highly fragmented, which will make Kosovo's Parliament difficult to approve the removal of Kosovo's north.

Bildt says he has the impression that the US is no longer “willing to take responsibility for its own policy” and leave things to Europe, which at best is inert”.