Milenkovic: Allowing goods to cross at one border point is not an act of goodwill

Marko Milenkovic, Program Manager at the NGO "New Social Initiative," says that there is no scanner for checking imported goods at the Merdare border crossing.

"This process will only be partially unblocked because Serbian goods will be able to enter Kosovo only at Merdare. The question arises as to why this process is partially unblocked when there is no scanner, why is it possible for goods to enter at Merdare without a scanner, but at other crossings, this is impossible? We will see in the coming period how this will function. This somewhat indicates that it is not entirely about goodwill. The very fact that goods are only allowed to enter Kosovo through one crossing suggests that this is not an act of goodwill; if it were, it would have happened much earlier," Milenkovic said.

He added that allowing goods to cross at only one point is not an act of goodwill.

"What we know is that this is currently happening at Merdare, while at other crossings they are waiting for scanners. This is certainly not a gesture of goodwill, as evidenced by the fact that we have seen pressure from the German administration in recent weeks when Sarrazin was in Pristina, where he expressed great dissatisfaction because the ban on Serbian goods is still in effect," Milenkovic emphasized.

He believes this is a clear example of how the international community can exert greater pressure on Pristina.

"I expect the international community to continue to exert pressure, as they did this time, because it is clear that this decision came as a result of pressure from the German administration," Milenkovic said.