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| Peter Beyer |
On Monday, the US President's charge d'affaires for the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, Richard Grenell, surprised with the announcement that there would be a meeting between the parties in Washington on June 27. Many experts are of the opinion that Grenell is directly competing with the EU Chargé d'Affaires, Miroslav Lajcak.
Asked by Deutsche Welle, the German government, which takes over the helm of the EU on July 1 for six months, preferred to see this new initiative of Grenelli in a more positive light than many observers:
"We welcome all activities that bring Belgrade and Pristina closer together and give a new impetus to resolving the conflict," said Christofer Burger, Deputy Foreign Minister of Germany. But he did not forget to remind that Germany, along with other EU partners, is trying to reach a solution between the parties. "Even in the past, the US and the EU have succeeded only when they have worked together," Burger recalled, reiterating Germany's support for the EU in charge of dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.
No dirty deals!
What the Foreign Ministry indirectly said, he said without gloves, a few hours later in the German Bundestag, Peter Beyer. The Christian Democrat MP has been a connoisseur of the Western Balkans for over 10 years, a rapporteur for Kosovo and Serbia in both the Bundestag and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and, among other things, the German government's charge d'affaires for transatlantic relations.
Beyer's speech contained two calls which he transmitted not without passion:
First, in the direction of the new Prime Minister, Avdulla Hoti, not to accept secret agreements. "Do your homework!", Do your homework, he said. And do not accept dirty deals, dirty agreements, for the abrogation of the Special Court and the Special Prosecutor.
Beyer’s calls had to do precisely with the meeting announced by Richard Grenell for June 27th. In this context, he called on the US administration to invite EU Commissioner Miroslav Lajcak. "We do not know what will happen on June 27, but what we do know is that the EU will not be there. Therefore, I urge the United States to invite EU Commissioner Miroslav Lajcak to Washington as well.
Beyer also criticized President Trump's charge d'affaires, Richard Grenell, for what he called "an open battle on Twitter with the EU," saying the EU had not liberalized visas with Kosovo. Beyer called him "blanker Unsinn" (Albanian: "horny stupidity") and asked a rhetorical question: Have the United States lifted visas for Kosovo citizens? Beyer said visa liberalization would happen soon, while Serbs have long been traveling without visas.
It does not appear that visa liberalization is so close in government circles in Berlin. A consensus has not yet been reached on this, not only in the European Union but also in Germany, as sources in Berlin report on DW in Albanian. However, the lobbying for visa lifting for Kosovo is very big, both within the German government and in the Schengen area.