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“The hardest part was restarting the dialogue,” Miroslav Lajcak told the Austrian. Wiener Zeitung.
The EU special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina reiterated that the goal is a binding global agreement.
“We already have a draft text on displaced and missing people, as well as on economic cooperation. But here too the principle is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. We are currently discussing very complex issues, including economic claims and property rights. “, He said. Lajcak.
He pointed to the issue of the Union of Serbian Municipalities, which, as he recalled, had already been agreed upon in the 2013 and 2015 agreements, which were not implemented. “It is a very sensitive issue that has also been addressed by the Kosovo Constitutional Court; that opinion must be taken into account. But I ask those who say that now is not the time for that: ‘When, if not now? signed the agreement. ‘” Lajcak says.
“Egg and hen”
When asked by a journalist from the Vienna newspaper if there is a lack of motivation for the deal, because EU countries have not been interested in accepting new members for years, which was criticized by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Lajčák answered:
“President Vučić is asking a legitimate question. We hope that he will make a far-reaching decision, and he asks: How can I explain to the citizens what is good for them? This negotiation process was connected to the European perspective of the country from the beginning and now Vučić asks: How many European perspectives will we get? ”says Lajcak.
He points out that the Balkan countries expect a European perspective and the EU expects them to seriously work on that. According to Lajcak, this is “the chicken and egg principle.” “We can blame each other, but it doesn’t benefit anyone,” Lajcak added.
This European Commission has a “political vision”
Stating that the European Commission’s progress reports clearly show that “momentum for reform has been lost” in the region, Lajcak says it should be clear to the Western Balkan countries that EU membership requires a lot of work. and that nobody gets membership like that.
“During the last European Commission, we lost our political vision, technical details dominated. This was also felt in the Western Balkans. But negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania should start soon, a new methodology was introduced in the enlargement talks. The political vision has returned. There, “Lajcak added in an interview with Wiener Zeitung.
When asked about American ideas that could eventually include an exchange of territories between Belgrade and Pristina, Lajcak said: “We need to find a European solution that is suitable for the 21st century. The region has a tragic past with borders drawn along of ethnic lines “.. “
