Austrian European: Kosovo has met conditions, but visa liberalisation has been blocked for political reasons

“I am confident that a new government will be formed in Kosovo, which should focus on strengthening rule of law and reforms”, says Lucas Mandl, member of the European Parliament.

Mandl, who is a member of the European Parliament Delegation for Bosnia and Kosovo, told Voice of America that the idea of exchanging territories as a solution to normalising relations between Pristina and Belgrade has no support in Kosovo.

Mr. Mandl, two months after general elections, Kosovo continues to be without a new government, in part due to a political stalemate caused by the lack of an agreement among political parties on the creation of a ruling coalition. How do you see recent political developments in Kosovo?

Lucas Mandl: Kosovo is a structured democratic country. Of course, there are shortages of some reforms in certain areas of state and society, but democracy is functioning. I was part of the European Parliament Delegation, which monitored the elections and am glad that democracy is functioning. I stress that to any country where this is true because I respect the voters' decision. Voters in Kosovo have clearly decided to support the two winning parties in Kosovo, and they are negotiating the formation of a government. I am confident that a good government can be formed. It will be important to make domestic reforms, to gain and accept support from the other five Balkan countries. If created, I think the new government will have a good mandate.

In your opinion, what will be the main challenges of the new government in Kosovo, expected to be led by Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti? What do the European Parliament and its delegation for Bosnia and Kosovo expect from the new Kosovo government?

Lucas Mandl: I think that during the mandate of the new Kosovo government, for the people of Kosovo, 50 percent of the important decisions will come from the European Union, and perhaps 50 percent from the Kosovo government. The part that needs to be done by the Kosovo government is strengthening rule of law. I stress this because rule of law is directly related to investments and investments are directly related to employment, jobs. And if there are jobs and investments, people will stay in Kosovo. It is very important that young people, hard workers, educated ones stay in the country and strengthen their country. On the part of the European Union, it will be important to keep the promise of visa liberalisation with Kosovo, and that will be realised as soon as possible. I fight for it in parliament, and most European Parliament members are in favour of visa liberalisation with Kosovo. Besides strengthening the rule of law, for the new government of Kosovo it will be important to strengthen the education system, especially in the field of technology, computer programmes, codes, software architecture, because Kosovo does not have much natural resources and does not have a traditionally powerful industry. But Kosovo has a large number of young people -- the largest average of the new population in Europe. There are many young people who want to work on computer engineering, and a number already do. Several large Austrian companies work with these young people in Kosovo. For this reason, I sometimes say that Kosovo, perhaps throughout the Western Balkans, can one day become Europe's Silicon Valley. But the educational system must be strengthened in this area, education should be strengthened for girls, women, and all in society. I think that any government that tries to achieve these goals can be supported.

What should Kosovo do to facilitate the European Union's decision on visa liberalisation?

Lucas Mandl: I was very honest about this matter. Kosovo has met all conditions for visa liberalisation with the European Union. Kosovo has met over 90 conditions set by the European Union. This has been blocked for political reasons. Five European Union countries still do not recognise Kosovo's independence, and some other countries that suspect visa liberalisation with Kosovo would function as they fear people will leave the country and will not return, stay in Europe and other parts of the world.

What impact will efforts have on reforming the European Union and not spreading Albania and Macedonia's membership negotiations on the process of normalising Kosovo-Serbia relations?

Lucas Mandl: To me these two things are connected and important in this area. I am friendly with Kosovo, as a rapporteur of the European People's Party and the European Parliament for Kosovo, and I am committed to Kosovo, but that does not mean that I question Serbia's importance. Serbia is important, the Serbian people are important. Serbia is the most powerful economy in the region, and it has a responsibility because of this force. I always tell Serbia that it is important for her to understand that most countries in the world have recognised the Republic of Kosovo. It is not reasonable to think there could be a membership of Serbia in the European Union without recognition of Kosovo's independence. In these areas responsibility is needed from Serbia, and for this matter all leaders of the European Union must send a clear message to Serbia that we need you, we want you to the European family, but please end this old conflict. So it is the European Union Commission's duty to take care of the dialogue process (Kosovo-Serbia). I hope not only the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, but also Commissioner for Neighborship Oliver Varhely will engage in the dialogue process. Frankly, this process is not a sole responsibility of French President Emmanuel Macro. I hope he doesn't want to damage this process, but Mr. Macron, to be honest, has no European mandate on the issue, he has a French mandate, just like the leaders of the other 27 European Union member states.

Mr. Mandle, Austrian officials have supported the idea of exchanging territories as part of a final agreement on Kosovo normalisation Serbia. How do you see this?

Lucas Mandl: The idea arose in Austria, in the Tirol Alps, during a public discussion between Austrian President Hashim Thaci, and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic. I do not want to be among those who impose an external solution on issues Kosovo and Serbia speak about or agree. It has been a big mistake in the history of the Western Balkans, which have sometimes been imposed on foreign solutions for the Western Balkans. I don't want a solution imposed on the outside. I will be pleased if discussions and dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia continue, and I don't want things imposed on the agenda of these talks. My experience after the idea of exchanging territories was and continues to be that most people in Kosovo do not support it. So there doesn't seem to be any big odds that this idea would work well. Hence, it may be best to find issues on which the parties can reach agreement.

Would you support a solution to the problem between Kosovo and Serbia that included exchange of territories, whether it is imposed or not?

Lucas Mandl: I would support any solution supported by Kosovo and Serbia. For me it is important to have a mutually respectful solution between Kosovo and Serbia. It's not my job to impose a solution. I really have the impression that imposing solutions on the outside was not the right agenda for the Western Balkans.

Mr. Mandl, the leader of Vetevendosje, Albin Kurti, who is expected to be the prime minister of Kosovo's new government, has rejected the idea of exchange of territories or border correction. In your opinion, what effect can Mr. Kurti's victory have on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue?

Lucas Mandl: My impression from abroad is that perhaps future Prime Minister Albin Kurti is more moderate in his policies than in the past. I also have the impression that a good and professional government can be formed by the two winning parties in Kosovo. Negotiations are part of the political system, especially in democracy, where talks with each other are an important instrument of finding solutions. For me, presenting positions in support or against proposals on specific issues before negotiations is not a problem. It would be problematic if the parties don't talk to each other. So if Albin Kurti or Aleksandar Vucic say they don't want to talk, that would be a problem. As long as there are people who are willing to talk, there will be a way to find a solution. I'm always optimistic about that.

Mr. Mandl, the United States has increased their commitment to the Balkans by appointing two envoys for the Balkans and for Kosovo-Serbia talks? What will be the role of the European Union in the negotiation process after greater American involvement?

Lucas Mandl: For the European Union, this is a top priority. This means that European Commission President Ursula von der Leenen, newly elected by the European Parliament, himself will take care of the question of dialogue. I've asked her that several times, and I've understood her answer that she agrees with this and sees this as a priority. But there will be other commissioners who will deal with this as the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, the Commissioner of Business and others who will engage at the political level. There will also be special envoys monitoring the technical aspect of the process. But this continues to be a priority for the European Commission and the European Parliament. If I have the impression that the European Commission is not doing so much on this issue I will strongly seek as MP for things to move forward.

Some analysts have warned that Russia might try to secure a presence in the Western Balkans through the prevention of resolving problems between Kosovo and Serbia. Can Russia actually prevent reaching an agreement between Pristina and Belgrade?

Lucas Mandl: I hope not. It is up to us, Europeans if we allow influence from other parts of the world, which disagree with our values and our approach to human dignity and freedoms. This includes not only the influence from Russia but also Turkey, China, and even Saudi Arabia. Some people do not know that Serbia is conducting more exercises with NATO, and that Russia is not spending that much in Serbia. The European Union is spending a lot in the Western Balkans and Serbia. This is not a gift, but part of the effort for sustainable development across the continent throughout the European Union. So there are many reasons to remain united, as a united European family, so as not to allow such influences within the European Union. But I know this danger exists, not just from Russia, but from other countries as well. We need to avoid such types of negative influence as possible.

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, recently said the 1999 massacre in Recak in Kosovo had been fabricated. In Kosovo, denying war crimes by Serbia is seen as a rejection of the spirit of reconciliation and normalisation of relations. In your opinion, what effect can these kinds of statements have on Kosovo-Serbia talks?

Lucas Mandl: My question is which audience these messages were given. I hope it's not necessary for an official or politicians in the Western Balkans to deny terrible events like this. It must be possible to honor and remember the victims and achieve a positive and prosperous future in all parts of the world. I disagree with such denials. This is still happening in other regions, such as Turkey, which denies the Armenian genocide. I don't want to compare one event to another, they're different. But denying suffering to victims is something we don't need in Europe or other areas. We don't want this either way. The successful history of the European Union is based on the excess of these denials and aggression that they contain in themselves. I call on all parties to end ethnic, national, and religious conflicts. These are wrong conflicts, not rational. Work for a prosperous future for the region, supporting the six countries of the Western Balkans.