Dimitrijevic: Foreign policy and the issue of Kosovo will not be the focus of the new Prime Minister of France

Nemanja Dimitrijevic, President of the Federation of Young Serbs of Europe, says that foreign policy and the issue of Kosovo will not be the focus of France's new Prime Minister, Michel Barnier.

Dimitrijevic notes that during the recent visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Serbia a few days ago, Kosovo was discussed, with Macron emphasizing that France wants to achieve the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina and supports the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM). However, Dimitrijevic assesses that the focus of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will lean more towards France's internal politics, as there are many pressing social and economic issues.

"The issue of Kosovo and Serbia was also present during the European elections when the National Rally party, led by Marine Le Pen, received a record 30% of the votes, far outpacing Macron's party and left-wing parties. We know that there are a few Serbs in her party, but we will see, once the full government and all ministries are announced, whether any member of the National Rally will be part of the government. However, I believe that Serbia, in terms of the Kosovo issue, will have to wait, as the National Rally has not yet secured a majority in the Assembly," says Dimitrijevic.

Dimitrijevic points out that the selection of the new prime minister represents a compromise that satisfies no one.

"At 73, Barnier is a very experienced Republican, representing the moderate right in France. He was a member of parliament from 1978 to 1983, a member of the European Parliament, a senator, the Minister of Agriculture, and a secretary in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. He served in the governments of Jacques Chirac and Sarkozy. The most significant roles he held were as a two-term European Commissioner, and during the global economic crisis of 2008, he held important positions, working in the European Bank and being a member of the EU delegation during the Brexit negotiations with the United Kingdom. He is a highly experienced politician who began his career at the age of 20, and I believe Marine Le Pen does not have as much influence. Unfortunately, as she says, 11 million voters will be deprived of direct influence from her party during his mandate. No one is satisfied—not Marine Le Pen, nor the New People's Front, the left-wing coalition, nor the National Rally, which believes that the expectations of their voters will not be met," he adds.