Borrell Tells N1: Kosovo dialogue to continue with EU special representative

“Renewed for sure. Until now the dialogue has not been very positive to tell the truth and in the end there was a breakdown… There are still many wounds to be healed and there is a lot of effort to find a basis for peace and solidarity,” he said and cited the example of France and Germany who fought wars and now live in peace. “The EU is about reconciliation and peace and we have given the best example in history of people who were fighting France and Germany and how they live in peace… I think this is something that the Balkans also have to do,” Borrell said and added that the EU would be happy to help all Western Balkans countries follow this example. 

Asked about the obstacles between Belgrade and Pristina, Borrell said that there are many of them. “All the parties have to make an effort in order to accept changes. But it is not up to me to tell them what to do. A facilitator is not the one who dictates the final result, just the one who tries to bring both parties together and create positive dialogue. I think we need to nominate a special representative because this will require permanent work not one weekend and then let’s see next month. It requires also, not only political skill but technical capacity, mutual trust and overall the will to reach a solution,”he said.  

He said that he wanted to visit Kosovo and Serbia to show the importance of resuming dialogue to normalize relations “because this is strongly needed on their way to the EU”. He warned that the European prospects of both Serbia and Kosovo are strongly conditioned by the problem of Kosovo. “The EU is just a facilitator … the negotiations will be among them but I think the EU has to be more involved,” he added.  

“I’ll do my best and I have to be involved because the Western Balkans is not something strange to our history and culture, They are part of Europe and their success will be our success. Their security and stability will contribute to our security and stability,” he said. Borrell added that the EU is investing in the region, not just financially. “This is the less important thing. The most important thing for us is to guarantee stability, democracy and prosperity. If this happens in the Western Balkans this would be good for us,” the EU High Representative said.  

Borrell warned of looming difficulties because of migration from the region. “Many people are leaving these countries, the population is decreasing and if this continues there will be difficulties. I think we need realism to face the challenge with a will to solving this problem. This can be solved, it should be solved, we need to solve it and I will be very much engaged personally,” he said but added that he would name a representative because he has to deal with many other issues.  

Asked about his meeting with part of the opposition which was not attended by the Alliance for Serbia (SzS) which advocates a boycott of the coming elections, Borrell said the EU does not want to interefer in the internal issues of countries. “This is an internal issue but we have been talking about it with the government and opposition and I told them that from the European point of view there is no wisdom in boycotting the elections. I encourage both parties to talk and find an agreement on the framework of the Venice Convention and to solve the issues and show that in Serbia you have a democracy that fulfills the highest standards of the election process,” he said.  

The High Representative said that for the EU protecting and enhancing the quality of the media is very important as well as defending the diversity of sources of information. “Everything that goes in the direction of limiting freedom of expression is against our principles and the way we understand political life,” he said. “I want to say that we support everything that goes in the direction of freedom of expression and plurality of media,” he added.