Violet von Croamon: As bitter as it may be, Kosovo must form association

The Ohrid Agreement is a good <x0-based” aimed at enabling Kosovo to take the next steps and materialise its pro-European stance, its reforms in the process of membership in the European Union, and in the process of membership in the Council of Europe”, German eurodeput Violet von Cremon told DW in the Serbian language.

But, as she points out, the <x0 times it is, one condition must be met, and that is the proposal for forming association in a form. And as long as it took so long, and it was signed twice, in 2013 and 2015, the whole process is probably stuck”.

“If both sides show a certain political will to reach a compromise, we can take a major step forward of”, says von Cromon, and at the same time estimates that a large portion of the provocations come from Serbia and that there is certainly no doubt about it, but we should also see that Kosovo contributes to this”.

The Eurodeput also talked about EU enlargement and the money Serbia wants from the EU, but that skeet brings politics together with it.

“For the first time, we have a geopolitical situation so favourable that even EU enlargement critics have concluded that enlargement is necessary”, the German Eurodeput said.

“Theorically, the preconditions for enlargement could not be better. And now we have the money in our hands”, says von Cramon, remembering that European Commission Chairman Ursula von der Leyen has recently visited the Western Balkans.

But what would I do? Of course, I would have to condition him firmly, which means I can't just give him money, especially not for a place like that. Serbia, where I clearly see that the basic values of the European Union are clearly violated”, says the eurodeputate from Germany, with the assessment that in Serbia “the opposition has no access to the media, that activists are attacked, that there is no free and independent press”.

I don't think it will help if you go there and say: We have money for you, we want to help you, we want to support infrastructure and essentially the money will definitely come, no matter what your policies are. I think it's a mistake”, von Cromon says.

She thinks Germany is one of the biggest investors in Serbia, and for that reason in the past ten years, more than 800 jobs have been created.

This created economic prosperity, but also enabled Vuciqi to cement his political power. We'd have to take advantage of this. We should get in a lot more politically and say: We expect this and that from you. And that should be said in front of camera”.

“People need to understand”, says that “that Vuciq is controlling the press and that for years he has allowed the European Union, for us in the West, to be constantly discredited. And he took the money”.