Borrell: The license plate issue, harder to resolve, but I'm optimistic

“I am promoting something both sides can accept”, Borrell tells Radio Free Europe.

The Kosovo government has taken the decision that drivers driving cars with license plates leaving Serbia to re-register them in the Kosovo Republic.

The decision, seen as beginning to implement on August 1st, has caused tensions in northern Kosovo and has been postponed for 1 September.

The next issue that has caused tension that travel documents has already been resolved.

In the REL interview, Borrell also speaks of the possibility of suspending visa relief for Russians, of possible new sanctions against Russia, of an EU military advisory mission in Ukraine and other issues.

Radio Free Europe: Mr. Borrell, do you think it is likely that, in the near future, there will be agreements to suspend [EU] visa relief for Russia. There's already partial suspension. Can there be a complete one?

Josep Borrell: Let's see what ministers decide during meetings in Prague, today [August 29th], tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. There's a partial suspension already. I think there'll be another step further. But I cannot say if it will be [complete].

Radio Free Europe: You would favor complete suspension?

Josep Borrell: I wouldn't say no Russian can ever go to Europe for any reason. But it is up to the ministers to decide.

Radio Free Europe: But for visa relief, because this is something different... Would you be in favour of suspending relief?

Josep BorrellDepends on how you look at this.

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Radio Free Europe: We see there is a kind of division in Europe on the visa issue. Several countries, such as Balticu, Finland, have stopped issuing visas. The others are more hesitant. How do you see this? How can a European compromise be reached here?

Josep Borrell: I think it's going to be about modification of the visa relief process, not just removing another part of it, but modification of the visa relief structure, and then taking some specific measures for specific people. I think we should be more selective. Not all Russians stop you.

Many people want to leave Russia. More than 300,000 have left since the beginning of the war [in Ukraine, February 24th]. And most of them are professional, highly educated people who don't want to stay in Russia anymore. They don't want to go to war. They don't support war. They do not want to continue living under the regime of [Russian president Vladimir] Putin and they leave. So, I don't think we should lock the door to these people.

Radio Free Europe: What categories would you like to target?

Josep Borrell: Every member state will make a proposal. But, of course, except for humanitarian cases, those with family reasons, I think we need to focus on students, the people we want to be in touch with. I think that Russian civil society should not leave Europe. It's good for us and those who keep in touch.

Radio Free Europe: Looking at future sanctions packages, there is not much left to sanction now. It's gas, remaining oil, nuclear power. Do you think the EU is likely to target this sector at the time when energy prices are at the peak?

Josep Borrell: Of course, energy prices are a big problem for Europeans, but for this price increase there are many reasons, it's not just restrictive measures for the energy we've imported from Russia and Russian restrictive measures. In the case of coal and oil, it's us who said we didn't want to wait. In the case of gas, we face a situation in which Putin will be the one to say: we don't want to sell it.

In addition, however, there are many other reasons why they have nothing to do with the situation in Ukraine. Drought, hydro production is very low, nuclear plants in France work at 40% of their capacity, due to technical problems. And all of this together causes huge price increases. Then there is [also] the financing of markets and speculation... financial expectations make prices rise.

Putin's calculations, <x0 entirely wrong”

Radio Free Europe: Can new sanctions be ruled out this winter? Are sanctions over for now?

Josep BorrellNo, they're not. You know, it's up to member states to make more proposals on the table. This package of sanctions is the most comprehensive, most powerful package we have ever adopted and targets the critical sectors of the Russian economy and the technological sectors. Russia depends on high-level technology more than 40% on Europeans. New oil and gas fields cannot be developed without our technical support.

Radio Free Europe: But this has not changed Putin's calculations when it comes to ending the war.

Josep BorrellWell, I see Putin's calculations have been completely wrong. I don't think Putin has expected six months after the war began, the Russian army is in the situation. The offensive to take Kiev has completely failed. So, I think Putin's count was a big mistake.

Putin has erred in believing that the West will not be united, will not support Ukraine. We will continue to support Ukraine as much as necessary. He has also been very, very well informed of the capacity for resistance of the Ukrainian army and society. So Putin made a big mistake.

Radio Free Europe: There may be an agreement for an EU military advisory mission in Ukraine. Can you tell us a little more about this? What's it gonna look like, where's it gonna be?

Josep Borrell: We've been talking about this mission for months, even before the war, when people thought it was possible. And we had to support the Ukrainian Army. Some member states, mostly Baltics and Poland, have asked us to take responsibility for this type of activity to present a plan for this Ukrainian military training mission.

Things have been delayed because there was no agreement and people have not been convinced. Now we have war and [the situation] is: now or never. We cannot continue to discuss something that has been on the table for months while the war continues. So if we want to have it, we have to do it now. All other countries are doing this, the United Kingdom is doing this. It's just my proposal, not my decision.

Radio Free Europe: How big would it be?

Josep BorrellIt depends. Depends on what kind of target we have. I don't think the Ukrainian Army needs to train tens of thousands of soldiers. First, they must be trained for the use of weapons we offer them. But this has already been done by various member states offering weapons; they also provide training for their use. I think more about qualified training, from the point of view of logistics, technological capacity, organisational capacity. The Ukrainian army is not like the army of Mali or Mozambique, where you should start from the base. Basic things are not necessary. We're talking about something more powerful.

Kosovo-Serbia: neutral plates?

Radio Free Europe: Stop at Kosovo and Serbia. At the weekend, they have reached an important agreement [for travel documents], but there is another issue that remains to be resolved: car plates. There have been proposals for the plates to become neutral on Kosovo's status. How would you convince Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to accept this, as this proposal is seen as undermining Kosovo's sovereignty?

Josep Borrell: You know, in my role, I should try to understand any position. The positions of Serbs and Kosovars. What is behind this identity issue, being in a state, being a nation, not being recognised by many countries of the world, even within the European Union... We've solved the problem of IDs and say passport, free movement of people. The issue of license plates is more difficult to resolve because it is not just someone who moves, it is a property that can be sold and bought. But I'm optimistic.

We've got a two-month time changing plates. There's something going on tomorrow. Kurt has accepted the process around two months to avoid any situation that could create more danger.

Radio Free EuropeBut your main route is status neutral plates. Are you still following this?

Josep Borrell: I'm promoting something that both sides can accept.

Radio Free Europe: Do you think they can accept this proposal for neutral license plates?

Josep BorrellLet's see.