Merkel's closest man delivered clear visa message during his visit to Pristina

German Bundestag MP from party ranks Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU, Peter Beyer, has expressed opposition to the idea of changing Kosovo-Serbia borders, while calling on five EU member states that have not yet recognised Kosovo's independence to do so.

Kosovo must guard its borders. It is a real shame that not all states have recognised Kosovo. I invite five countries to recognise Kosovo. Kosovo is ahead of the elections and is a very short campaign, so they have only a few days to gain the trust of Kosovo. We also talked, yesterday I was in Belgrade, I made an invitation there to resume dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. The new government, due to be established after the elections, will be back into the process unconditionally. We are ready as in the past to support Kosovo”, Beyer said.

Asked how much Germany is in support of visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens, MP Beyer said it cannot give a specific date, but this could happen before Christmas.

“Germanis in a support state for Kosovo integration and visa liberalisation. There was a date. We never mentioned it on our side. It is really not fair that Kosovo is the only country that does not have visa liberalisation. I won't give you the date, but maybe it'll be a Christmas bonus”, he said.