Europe can’t afford to wait for Serbia and Kosovo to come up with a solution.
Two decades after the Kosovo War ended, a political settlement between Belgrade and Pristina remains elusive and frustration hangs heavy over the region.
Europe can no longer afford to wait and hope the issue sorts itself out. An unresolved conflict in the heart of Europe is an unacceptable geopolitical risk — especially in a time of global upheaval.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the issue earlier this year, when they invited leaders from the Western Balkans to Berlin in late April. But the talks did not yield what the region really needs: a realistic plan for their integration into the structures of the European Union.
France and Germany will have another opportunity to tackle the problem at a follow-up meeting as well as at a Berlin Process meeting in Poland on July 5. They urgently need to make real progress.
Serbia and Kosovo have been unable to come up with an “indigenous solution” to the problem, as Greece and what is now North Macedonia did last year to settle their name dispute.
https://www.politico.eu/article/balkans-roadmap-political-settlement-serbia-kosovo-eu-conundrum/