German MEP Michael Gahler and Austrian MEP Thomas Waltz criticised the EU’s envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák, during Wednesday’s meeting of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), citing a failure in progress and the bloc’s one-sided approach to the situation.
First to take the floor was Waltz, who said Lajčák’s position in relation to the tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, has “reduced the credibility of the dialogue”.
“How do you consider an agreement that was not signed by both parties as successful? Where do you really see success in your work in the last four years?” he asked.
His comments refer to the 2016 Brussels Agreement and the 2023 Ohrid Agreement which laid down a pathway to the normalisation of relations between the two countries. Serbia refused to sign, but the agreement is considered verbally binding, and it is tied to the enlargement perspective of both.
Waltz continued that when observing communication from the EU, it would seem that the aggression is on the part of Kosovo, rather than originating from Serbia.
“A bully is always a bully, so we really give a bad impression by defending the abusers while attacking the victims of aggression, even if we think some political moves were wrong. This undermines our credibility in the region,” Waltz added.
The MEP said that there should be equal demands and pressure on Serbia, not just Kosovo as he believes the former is being unfairly favoured.
“You present all the demands you have to Kosovo, what it should do, while you don’t say a single point to Serbia what it should offer. And all those statements about the Russian orientation of Serbia, the continuation of the aggression, what signal do you think you give to those hundreds of thousands of protesters who rose up against the Vučić regime?! Are you discouraging them? I would personally ask you about your role in this”, he said.”
For over a month, thousands of Serbs have been taking place in nationwide protests against the government, leading to questions over the continuation of the current leadership.
Meanwhile, Gahler also took to the floor to raise a number of questions to Lajcak.
He noted recent Serb actions such as the reaction to the licence plate issue, siding with convicted war criminals, foreign policy coordination with Russia, broken promises, non-signature of “alleged” agreements, resigning from all public institutions in Kosovo, and refusing to take part in elections.
“Should you not have publicly criticised Vucic as well? Should the EU not have threatened to reduce the flow of money to Serbia? Should you not address the Serb nationalism which is the root cause of instability and fear throughout the entire Western Balkans?”
He added that Kosovo is the most pro-Western country in the region with political achievements, anti-corruption achievements, economic growth, progress in the rule of law, a government with high public support and 100% alignment with Western foreign policy.
“Kosovo is open to a balanced solution with Serbia but with an honest broker that does not appease the Serb president and pressure the victims,” he added.
He questioned when we could expect to see a U-turn in the EU’s approach, one that would instil trust in Kosovars.
The comments come as the EU is poised to impose sanctions on Kosovo in response to the growing tensions with Serbia. These include the suspension of invitations for Kosovo’s participation in high-level events, bilateral visits from the EU and member states, and only holding meetings when they directly relate to the crisis in the north.
Other measures include ceasing sub-committee meetings between Kosovo and the EU, created based on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. EU funding for several projects under the Investment Fund for the Western Balkans would also be suspended.
Lastly, they reported the possible reduction of Kosovo’s public presence in events in which government members are entitled to participate in. A diplomatic source stated that engagement with Kosovo authorities would return to normal levels once Kosovo takes the steps the EU expects.
The possibility that Kosovo could also see a freeze on its visa liberalisation process and EU membership application has also been floated.
Meanwhile, on Monday (26 June), Serbia released three Kosovar police officers after accusations from Pristina they were “kidnapped” from within Kosovo’s territory.
The officers were arrested on 15 June. While Pristina says they were 300-500 metres within Kosovo’s territory, Serbia, which considers Kosovo a province and does not recognise its independence, says they were arrested inside Serbia.
Serbia is yet to face any public international repercussions for the incident while bomb and grenade attacks on Kosovar institutions and attacks on ethnic Albanian journalists in the north of Kosovo continue.
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
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