What is expected of the Berlin meeting?

The meeting of Western Balkan leaders, which has been warned to hold on April 29th in Berlin, where the host of the meeting is expected to be German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, is a traditional and informal meeting, but this time will not be common, the connoisseurs of political developments in Kosovo and Serbia.

Politologist Ramush Tahiri tells Radio Free Europe, that at the April 29th meeting in Berlin, it is intended to find solutions to problems in the Balkans and which recently concern the problem between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the problem of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

But, according to him, the main theme at multilateral meetings -- and especially at bilateral meetings and mediators -- will be the issue of resolving the problem between Kosovo and Serbia and reaching an agreement between the two countries.

I expect this gathering in Berlin to have the symbol in the future Balkan political architecture, to blow up divisions and ethnic fragmentations and create big states, and create balance, but also create the society of European values and co-operation between states. In this case, co-operation between Kosovo and Serbia is extremely important and the preservation of Bosnia in the current form or co-operation between peoples and the two ethnicities”, Tahiri said.

According to Tahiri, it is now a historic moment for future Balkan architecture, while the symbolic is Berlin, because at the Berlin Congress in 1878, Balkan contributions were established and Slavic states were created in the function of the goal of removing the Ottoman Empire.

But, according to him, the Albanian people as a whole then failed to become the object of citizenship. But, as Tahiri points out, Kosovo has already appeared on the historic stage and is no longer undone, as well as is now the historic moment of Kacelares Angela Merkel, who, according to him, is developing the option of policetrestism or equal people.

Meanwhile, Dusa Janjiq, director of the Forum for Ethnic Relations in Belgrade, speaks of Radio Free Europe, estimates that it is very important to meet Western Balkan leaders in the format, such as the Berlin Summit, because, as he says, there is already a comprehensive crisis in the Brussels dialogue.

This meeting and development at the warned level, it speaks of the European Union with knowledge and co-ordination with the United States of America as being decided by institutional leaders to ask to clarify whether they will remain on the path to entry into the European Union. Second, when it comes to the topic of Kosovo's status, I think that once again the harmonised positions of the Contact Group, out of which, during these months through propaganda and other ways, have been excluded from territorial integrity”.

So the border issue is the subject, but not the exchange of territory parts and the exchange of population. I think it will also be very important the order, which I believe the leadership of Kosovo will understand, that Serbia is not obliged for full recognition of Kosovo under the normalisation firm”, Janjic has said.

He has added that the two officials of the Berlin meeting, Merkel and Macron, are expected to influence the European Union, so that the latter can clarify what it means with the full normalisation of Kosovo- Serbia and what will be the criteria for signing a legally binding agreement.

On the other hand, the two presidents -- Kosovo and Serbia's Hashim Thaci and Aleksandar Vuciq -- have indicated they do not expect much of this meeting.

Kosovo President Thaci has said that “does not expect anything new from this meeting in reports between Ksoova and Serbia”.

Serbia President Aleksandar Vuciq and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, photo by archive

Meanwhile, Serbia's president, Vuciq, has stressed that he does not expect “pression” and that “there will be no such thing in that form”.

Politologist Tahiri points out that both presidents, in fact, know very well why they are invited to the Berlin meeting.

The two presidents -- Serbia and Kosovo -- are aware, however, that they do not go on tourist visits and do not visit promotional and photo. They go for European values, which are not binding, but are alternative, which France and Germany, Kosovo and Serbia will offer, and that is the alternative to reconciliation and acceptance of realities and co-operation. I expect much of this conference, because it will give no chance to continue the status quo and will not give you any chance that nationalist politics can continue in the Balkans”, Tahiri said.

Meanwhile, Janjjic expresses the opinion that, however, at the Berlin summit, it will be required by the leaders of Ksoova and Serbia to withdraw from the blind <x0-> road they entered.

They shouldn't behave, like they used to bring in Milosevic, if we're going there to play and then we're saying that Rambouillet is no longer worth it. This is a very serious meeting, behind which there are two leadership leaders, especially Merkel, who has invested not only foreign policy credibility, but this for Germany is a matter of domestic policy. This meeting is very serious, but it's not like it's going to be signed something”, Janiq said.

However, presidents and prime ministers of Western Balkan countries have been invited to the Berlin meeting on April 29th.

Serbia's president, Vuciq, has earlier declared that an agreement with Kosovo, based on current developments, is far away to be reached. Meanwhile, Kosovo President Thaci has said that the “agreement on normalising reports between Kosovo and Serbia is possible during 2019, despite obstacles in recent months”.