Sir Stuart Peach to N1: EU has to say the region has a better future

“It's important for the EU to makes it clear to the people of the region that there is a better, more prosperous future for them… The journey of accession brings both hope and frustration. The UK's role is very much in support of EU approach,” he said.

According to Peach, the process is not about “who's winning and who's losing it's much more about where they are in the process and how long the process has been running”. “No country is the same and all countries make different choices,” he said. He recalled that several countries in the region are NATO members, making significant contributions to European security. “If countries in the region choose not to join NATO that’s their sovereign choice, just as if countries choose not to join the EU that’s their sovereign choice. We recommend that they do follow the EuroAtlantic security journey,” Peach added.

He said that the UK speaks to both sides in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and strongly supports the approach to normalization. “We call on both sides to de-escalate, for the Kosovo Serbs to return to the institutions, to bring balance and fairness back to policing, to return to normal policing as soon as possible and to ensure that local democracy takes root and depth and by that I mean local elections and we expect as many people as possible, all sides to participate in those local elections,” he said.