Brnabic: I hope that the EU will get through to Kurti because the Serbs in Kosovo do not have even a minimum of rights

The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, expressed today the hope that the European Union and the international community would somehow manage to get through to Albin Kurti because the Serbs in Kosovo did not enjoy even the "bare minimum" of human rights.

Brnabic, commenting on Kurti's statement at the Bled Strategic Forum that the mood of the five EU countries that did not recognize Kosovo was changing, said that Kurti was saying what he believed the Albanians in Kosovo wanted to hear, and possibly what he believed, but which was far from reality.

"When he says that Kosovo is a success story, I would point out only one fact, and that is that 23 years after the end of the armed conflict, according to UNHCR data, the territory of Kosovo and Metohija remains the region with the least returnees of all post-conflict areas in the world. Imagine all the wars in the world and that you have the territory of Kosovo and Metohija where only 1.89 percent of people returned after the war. And he says it is a success story," Brnabic explained in a statement to journalists.

She also stated that in response to Kurti's words that "Kosovo is a beacon of democracy and the rule of law", she could provide two examples that showed what it looked like when you were a Serb or a non-Albanian in Kosovo led by Kurti.

"Only since the beginning of this year, six members of the Serbs have been shot, and no investigation has been carried out; no one is in prison or detention. There is no justice if you shoot the Serbs in Kosovo. Another example is that you have an Albanian who is a member of the KSF, who shot an eleven-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man on Christmas Day. He is free. On the other hand, one of the Serbs who is still in custody was arrested on charges of illegal construction. He has been in pre-trial detention for almost two years," the Prime Minister of Serbia emphasized.

Brnabic pointed out that this was what the beacon of the rule of law and democracy looked like.

"He believes in it; I can't do anything against it, but I think we should stick to concrete data, and examples to see how the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija live. Even during July, the German Envoy for the Balkans, a country that is one of the most important proponents of the independence of Kosovo, Manuel Sarrazin said that something had to change because the Serbs in Kosovo were suffering terribly. That's exactly the term he used. Kurti doesn't want to hear it. I hope that at least the EU and the international community will somehow manage to get through to Kurti because the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija do not have even the bare minimum of human rights," she underlined.

Asked about the rights of the Albanians in the south of Serbia, Brnabic said that the Albanians in the south of central Serbia had the rule of law and human rights.

"It is impossible for someone to shoot at an Albanian in Presevo and Bujanovac and not be held accountable for it. It is impossible that in the last two years, you have had 400 attacks on Albanians and not a single person is held accountable. In Serbia, that is impossible. On the other hand, if you look at the Kosovo that Kurti is talking about, this is not only possible, it is an everyday occurrence. Only in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija can you experience being arrested, and detained and you do not know why, no one knows where you are, and your legal representative does not know where you are. This is only possible on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija," Brnabic emphasized.

When asked about Euroscepticism in the Balkans, which she had spoken about on the panel, Brnabic explained that the first reason was that the process was taking so long and there was no end in sight, and the second was that the criteria were constantly changing.

"We have fulfilled all that is necessary to open Cluster 3 - economy and competitiveness, in the last two progress reports, the European Commission recommends all member states to give consent to open that Cluster, which is extremely important to us, and - nothing is happening. In the meantime, the war in Ukraine started. When we met all the criteria, there was no war on the European continent," she pointed out.

Brnabic said that the demands were changing in the meantime, so now it was heard that one of the demands was the harmonization of foreign and security policy, which had nothing to do with Cluster 3, and besides, she noted, it would be retroactive and contrary to the framework of the negotiation process, because the state should be harmonized with the foreign and security policy at the moment it became a member of the EU.

"Goals are constantly changing, the goalposts are moving. That's something that frustrates people. On the other hand, the best place for Serbia is full membership in the EU," she added.

Asked to comment on EU Council President Charles Michel's statement on EU enlargement in 2030, she said that earlier the Western Balkans had been told that the enlargement strategy envisaged accession in 2025.

"I don't want to sound like a pessimist, nor to introduce additional Euroscepticism because I think that European integration is important for our country and citizens and that we have to find a way to make it happen sooner. We have to work with the EU to have more concrete developments. That process, apart from the status of a candidate for Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the last two years it has not gained importance," she pointed out.

Brnabic reminded that about 65 percent of investments in Serbia came from EU countries and that 70 percent of exports were made to the EU.

"Our priorities must remain the EU and the Western Balkans," she underlined.