Roth: Kosovo should give it the visas we promised

German Minister for Europe Michael Roth has stated that visas for Kosovars must be liberalised.

In a letter to “Die Welt”, Roth says the situation in the Western Balkans still remains fragile.

According to the German minister, reconciliation in the region is the key factor for peace and change, for a good perspective in the Western Balkans.

“As for the role of the EU, it is clear: We have a special responsibility for the European backyard. We must do everything in our power for the sake of peace, reconciliation and democracy in the Western Balkans. Especially when it comes to young people, united Europe of common values has not lost its lust. So we must use our transforming power wisely and show people in the region that they can count on us. Even more importantly, at the May EU Summit, we found ourselves in the midst of the stressful crisis test Corona once again irreverent and very clearly stressed: The future of the Western Balkans is in the EU”, he has said.

“and looking to Kosovo, we as the EU must give what we promised and finally make progress on the road to visa liberalisation”, he says.

Roth has also talked about Germany's European Union Council priorities.

The Western Balkan countries on their way to the EU we will stand by. This is also a priority of the German presidency of the European Union Council, during which Germany has taken especially responsibility! In efforts for reconciliation in the region, as well as in overcoming the economic and social consequences caused by the Corona crisis, we will be supporting the region. People must sense what constitutes European solidarity and what makes our united Europe” special and valuable, has added further.

Germany, according to him, will give a new breath of dialogue, until, even speaking of the idea of exchanging territories referred to as the dangerous “>

And considering regional tensions, we should give a new spirit of dialogue for normalising relations between Serbia and Kosovo. That's because we need sustainable conflict resolution, rather than dangerous „widdy“, which with cross-border fantasies threaten to re-open the pandora box with so many conflicts, says the German minister.