Former British Minister of State for Europe Denis MacShane guested on “Inside Albania” podcast hosted by Alice Taylor this Saturday.
Touching on various pressing matters in the Western Balkan region, MacShane, who has authored various books including one on Kosovo, said he has sadly not seen much progress from the Wester with regards to Kosovo.
“Imagine if in Western Europe, in 1958, France and Germany didn’t recognize each other, didn’t take steps to establish the European Community… There wouldn’t be a normal Western Europe, and this would have been a gift to [former Premier of the Soviet Union Joseph] Stalin and the Soviet Union, just like the turmoil in the Western Balkans, Europe’s failure to understand what needs to be done in the region, is a big help for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. The European Union is still telling Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia ‘no’, that they should be perfect before they join. It’s really a big failure of the European project,” stated MacShane.
The former politician was harsh towards Western leaders, and called on them to let Kosovo prosper by joining the ranks of the European Union.
“There is still a permanent perception that [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vučić and Serbia cannot accept the existence of Kosovo and unfortunately, some other countries that should know better say that if they recognize Kosovo, Catalonia will be free, or minorities in Hungary will suffer. This is utter nonsense! I think there is a lack of historical context among many leaders in Western Europe. Kosovo is far from being perfect, but it exists. It’s a poor country, but it should be allowed to become rich by becoming a small member of the European community,” MacShane continued.
The former minister analyzed how destabilization in the Western Balkans can help Putin, whose main interest is the weakening of the EU.
“Putin invaded Ukraine with a large army and Ukrainians are fighting with the help of world democracies to stop the invasion and to repel it, if possible. What Vučić did is very clever. He sent a modest amount of weapons to Kiev through Bulgaria. Serbia could be listed as a country in the broad alliance against Putin. I’m sure he has discussed this with Putin, and he has given approval because he knows Vučić is on their side. Putin knows that Viktor Orbán of Hungary is on his side, and his main geopolitical ambition is to weaken and divide the EU. He’s not interested in NATO at all. They will be there, maybe even for the next 100 years, it’s a military alliance. They are fighting, they are important, but decisions are made in Berlin, Paris, London, Rome, not in Brussels”.
At the possibility of Donald Trump coming back as a president in the United States, MacShane stated that he is not the right person to deal with the Western Balkans’ issues.
“If Trump were to give an interview and was asked to name two states in the Western Balkans, he would ask for a break and help from someone. He doesn’t know the region at all. It’s a very specific region. It’s been entrusted to very dynamic American diplomats. Richard Holbrooke at that time, at the Dayton conference, completely ignored the need to resolve the Kosovo issue. He let it fester, and it exploded in the face of the West a few years later, with terrible violence. Sending military troops is a geopolitical catastrophe,” MacShane elaborated.
While Kosovo has rightfully focused its lobbying activities in the United States, MacShane advises politicians in the country to turn to their European partners, who in the end, will decide regarding Kosovo.
“Kosovo has never effectively lobbied in European capitals. It has focused its lobbying on the US, which is understandable because they helped a lot. During my visits to Pristina, I have told all parties and prime ministers that their future will be decided in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, London, so they need to start convincing policymakers in these countries that they have a good cause”.
MacShane explained why visits from British officials to Kosovo, such as that of Foreign Secretary David Cameron, do not carry much weight in resolving Kosovo’s issue with Serbia.
“When Boris Johnson was Foreign Secretary, he approached me and congratulated me on what I was doing for Kosovo and asked me to meet him. I refused the invitation because at the time he was too busy destroying the country with Brexit. I think there is genuine interest, and it’s not a political issue in Britain, but it needs to be kept alive because Cameron, Boris Johnson, and I are political animals of the ’90s. It doesn’t matter if Cameron or the future Labor Secretary visit Kosovo, even though they are welcomed by Pristina. Our Prime Minister does not regularly meet [French President Emmanuel] Macron, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz, [Spanish Prime Minister Pedro] Sanchez, or [Italian Prime Minister Giorgia] Meloni, to push for a better EU policy for the Western Balkans. We are now isolated,” concluded MacShane.
Source link : https://euronews.al/en/why-kosovo-still-matters-denis-macshane-demands-more-attention-for-western-balkans/
Author :
Publish date : 2024-01-27 03:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.