About the last elections in Serbia, the tweet of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the debate in the Bundestag, expectations from the report
of the ODIHR, the case in the village of Banjska, Kosovo and the cooperation of the two countries, spoke for "Vreme", the ambassador of the German Democratic Republic in Belgrade.
"WEATHER" On the social network X, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed the last elections in Serbia as unacceptable for a country that is a candidate for joining the European Union.. What is the message of this statement??
ANKE KONRAD: That tweet from December 18, 2023 clearly refers to the preliminary results of the ODIHR report, which was present at the elections precisely at the invitation of the Republic of Serbia. In that preliminary report, irregularities were noted during the elections. Now, of course, we await the final report to see what recommendations will emerge from it. We expect - and this is very important - from a country that wants to become a member of the European Union that there are no such irregularities in the electoral process. We will know all the details when the final ODIHR report arrives. These are not only the expectations of Germany, but also of all other members of the European Union.
The President of Serbia announced the letter/an essay in which he will inform the public about the brutal interference of a powerful European country in our election process. Many believe that he meant Germany. Do you agree with that opinion??
As an ambassador, I do not engage in speculation. I can only say that I have no knowledge of any memo or report.
The Bundestag debated the elections in Serbia on the 17th. December 2023. What conclusions did you draw from that debate??
Our MPs were members of the OSCE delegation as observers of the elections in Serbia. They discussed their experiences and what they saw here in the Bundestag. It was completely legitimate and, in our parliament, a big topic. But I want to emphasize once again that the final report of the ODIHR - its conclusions and recommendations, above all - will provide a road map for Serbia. He will indicate how these irregularities can be avoided in the future.
But to return to the Bundestag. There, debates are held in various committees and on various topics, including the elections in Serbia on December 17, 2023. Government representatives will certainly be invited to exchange opinions with MPs. But - as you know - the government in Germany has no influence on the deputies, nor does it try to gain it. That is our principle of separation of powers. This is very important for us, and for this reason we do not comment on the debates and speeches of members of the Bundestag. It is important that such a debate exists in order to eventually reach a common political position.
You mentioned the ODIHR final report several times-a. Do you think that one of the recommendations could be repeating the election??
What those recommendations will look like and what will be written in them, no one can know at this moment. It is exclusively the task of the ODIHR to make those conclusions and recommendations. I can't guess what those grades will be. For now, we have a preliminary report, and from what is written there, one can guess the thematic areas of the final report.
The authorities in Pristina are canceling the possibility of paying in dinars. What is Germany's position there??
In the past few months, we have seen progress when it comes to the relationship between Kosovo and Serbia in several areas. Unfortunately, we have also seen some other events that contradict the normalization process and that have the potential to lead to an increase in tensions in the north of Kosovo. Anything that negatively affects the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo must not happen. And there should be no provocation from either side. We support the work of Miroslav Lajčak - it is a central place where problematic constellations can be resolved. For example, the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo is something that is resolved at that level. It is important that conflicts do not take place at the expense of ordinary people and that the solution is found within the dialogue between the two parties.
Are you and how satisfied are you with the investigation related to the case in the village of Banjska?
We are not very satisfied with how the investigation of that incident is proceeding, because the investigation has not progressed much. We expected more, not only to find and bring the responsible persons to justice, but also to act preventively on similar situations so that they do not occur in the future.
Serbia's goal is to join the European Union. How do you rate the harmonization of foreign policy?, but also the rule of law, and the position of the media?
When a country approaches the European Union, the democratic functioning of its institutions comes into focus - freedom of speech and other important rights and freedoms of citizens. Also, there is legal certainty. These are elementary things related to the state organization of any democratic country. Anyone can read where Serbia's deficits are in these areas in the European Union's annual report on each candidate for accession. In the next few months, we will monitor progress in the area of judicial and media reform. We have a whole set of laws that have been passed, but now we have to work on their implementation. The citizens of Serbia must benefit from these laws in their everyday life.
How do you rate the political and economic relations between Serbia and Germany??
You should not always look only at the media, but also what the reality is. Then we can see that Serbia and Germany have very close relations. It is a matter of rich political dialogue and common topics - we agree somewhere, and somewhere we don't. However, we can talk which shows that our relationship is strong. We have a wide range of cooperation, and in my opinion, it is particularly important that all those projects and cooperations we have in the field of education, scientific research or development lead to the rapprochement of the citizens of Germany and Serbia. All those experts, scientists, students, teachers and so on, get to know each other and become closer through our cooperation. It shows the richness of joint action. It is precisely the fact that we are well connected on the human side that allows us to discuss some topics on which we disagree.
