Angela Merkel and Boris Tadic

"Landep News"

Angela Merkel and Boris Tadic

German chancellor Angela Merkel arrived to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, on Tuesday and delivered the Serbian leadership the conditions to follow in order for the Balkan state to be integrated in the European Union. Merkel’s visit to Belgrade is the first visit of a Western leader to Serbia, since general Ratko Mladic was delivered to the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia a few months ago.

Merkel referred to the events that jolted the balance in Kosovo a few weeks ago, when two Kosovo police officers were shot as they attempted to take control over two border crossings into Serbia. The German chancellor said that it was time to let bygones be bygones, with reference to the events in Kosovo.

Speaking about the admission of Serbia to European Union, Merkel said that Serbia must allow the European security teams do their jobs in the region and ensure cooperation and the normalizing of the ties.

She said that “to join us at the table, you must give something in return.” The president of Serbia, Boris Tadic, said that his country was committed to a long-term solution for the peace in the region. The European Union is committed to brokering another round of negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia. The last time it did the same thing, the negotiations were interrupted by skirmishing in Kosovo.

Ever since the end of the war in Kosovo, in 1999, Serbia has been aspiring to become a member state of the European Union, in hopes that this way it would cure its economic problems.

The European Union has imposed on Serbia some conditions, one of which being to cooperate in bringing those guilty of crimes against humanity before an international criminal court.

For almost a decade Serbian security services have attempted to find the criminals the European court wanted. The last of them was delivered last month, thus opening the road of Serbia toward the European Union.

But as soon as the last criminal against humanity was brought to justice, the European body has demanded that another condition be observed by Serbia: The negotiations with the Kosovo authorities, so that Serbia may enter EU without any conflict with neighbors, as the EU regulations demand.

Conflict in Northern Kosovo

Kosovo is a historical Serbian province, in fact it is considered the cradle of Serbian civilization, which the Serbians love and respect. During the period of the Communist Tito, Albanian people were allowed to cross into Kosovo, as a means to apply pressure on Enver Hoxha’s regime in Tirana.

This misunderstanding within the Communist bloc was to cost Serbia a very high price, as the Albanians became a majority in the region within a few generations and demanded to be granted autonomy and finally independence.

Autonomy existed in Kosovo for decades, and the independence was proclaimed by the Kosovo region on February 18, 2008, and was never recognized by Serbia or by other countries in the region, such as Romania, Russia, or Spain. More than 70 countries have recognized Kosovo as republic.

The new country became a beachhead for international criminal activities, with leaders like Hashim Tachi, accused by the Serbian authorities of trafficking human organs, and with no prospects for the future.

After most of the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo was destroyed by NATO bombings and by defiling the sacred places by the Kosovo Liberation Army, the Serbian minority was gathered in the north, where it retained very serious ties with Serbia, mostly economical.

Northern Kosovo was never under financial ambit of the regime in Pristina, which prompted the Kosovo PM to demand that the law be enforced in the north. To that effect, he demanded that the crossings be closed after Serbia imposed a blockade on Kosovo products because they were stamped with “Made in Kosovo.”

Negotiations have been launched between Serbia and Kosovo, but there is a long way to run.

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