By Erich Rathfelder
The EU and the USA want to win Serbia over at any price. They are even willing to weaken Kosovo’s democracy.
When Donald Trump wanted to enforce a few years ago that major political conflicts should be resolved through “deals” between those in power, many in Europe smiled at him. It had the smack of handshake deals between autocrats and criminals. Something that didn’t fit into the perfect world of democracies.
But with the crises and the Ukraine war, a lot seems to have changed. When the EU foreign policy expert Josep Borrell announces with relief “We have a deal” after the talks between Kosovo and Serbia, he shows that the spirit of Donald Trump has penetrated to the heart of Europe.
The EU and the USA want to win Serbia over to the West. The EU is even willing not only to broker a “deal” between a nationalist autocrat who protects war criminals and the government of a small but democratically run country, but even to enforce it on the autocrat’s side.
According to Borrell, Kosovo should give way on the question of the Serbian community association, although the Serbian communities in Kosovo already have extensive autonomy and self-government. The autocrat should have access to a significant part of the small country – which only suggests the worst for the future.
Is this breaking or setting international law? In any case, standards are used that no longer have anything to do with the values of our democratic culture. The “deal” is regarded as a higher good than the rights of individuals and thus human rights.
This deal between the EU, the USA and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić is accommodating to Serbian nationalism, but in no way strengthens the democratic forces in Serbia itself. It also weakens democracy in Kosovo. Vladimir Putin will by no means be defeated by this policy of appeasement. /TAGESZEITUNG (Berlin), March 19, 2023
