March 5, 2010

Serbia will not give up Kosovo for the sake of membership in the EU, reiterated the Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic. Andjelka Marisavljevic writes on why it is necessary to occasionally remind about this.

The public in Serbia understands the style of Minister Vuk Jeremic, although international diplomatic circles often criticize him for the lack of tact. "Mistaken is the one who thinks that, should it be forced to choose between the EU and Kosovo, Serbia would chose the EU, this would not happen," Vuk Jeremic said during his visit to Hungary. "To tie the issues of Serbia’s European integration and Kosovo would be a tragic mistake," added the Minister. It is clear that the Minister does not speak his personal stand, but reminds of the policy of the Government of Serbia. It can be assumed also that the moment is carefully chosen to convey the message - during the visit of Minister Jeremic to the EU member state, Hungary, and only a few days after t French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visited Belgrade.

In the recent years the world of diplomacy, it seems, is not the same as before. More and more ministers cherish their own style, including an experienced but controversial Bernard Kouchner. The fact is that during the visit he tried to be moderate, but lost his nerve when he was asked in Pristina about his possible involvement in the affair that is still not investigated on the trade in human organs in Kosovo, when was the first civilian administrator. Prior to this incident, however, Kouchner sent a series of political messages that should be carefully considered. He stated, for example, that the EU does not set a condition for Serbia to recognize Kosovo, but that it is necessary to find a compromise for Kosovo parallel with the European process. "I repeat and specify. Serbia has its place in the European Union - the natural, political, geographical, historical place. Its place is in the EU. We will work on European integration of Serbia, together with the other 26 member states. You know, out of 27 EU member states not all are equally inclined towards the new enlargement", Kouchner said thus hinting that the support to further integration may be difficult, that is, conditioned with Serbia’s attitude on Kosovo. From Belgrade, Kouchner went to Pristina and there he said that independence is an irreversible process.

The true message is looming behind these words - if it wants to join the EU, Serbia will have to persuade all members that it has found a compromise with Kosovo. The French guest probably knows that it is written in the Constitution of Serbia that Kosovo is part of the Serbian state. With his messages "between the lines", Kouchner, therefore, sets obstacles before Serbia that are impossible to skip. He also believes that the EU must not accept another country with territorial problems, such as Cyprus, which also speaks about the slowing down of the Serbian accession to the EU.
Regardless of the fact that explicit statement of Vuk Jeremic was not welcomed by many at home political scene, it is good that now to raise another question - whether the EU has any interest to leave Serbia outside the EU borders. So the focus of the problem can be moved from partial to broader interests. This should be considered by all who are trying to make it harder for Serbia on its course towards the European Union.