Muhaxhiri: It is unrealistic to ask the EU to accelerate European integration before resolving the issues between Kosovo and Serbia

Political analyst Artan Muhaxhiri believes that it is unrealistic for Pristina to ask the European Union to bypass steps related to the dialogue with Belgrade in Kosovo's European integration process, because the path to Europe, for both Kosovo and Serbia, depends on how they resolve the most pressing issues.

Commenting on the increasingly frequent calls from Pristina that Kosovo should be allowed to advance in the integration process independently of Serbia, Muhaxhiri says that the European Union is not prepared to accept the problems between Kosovo and Serbia within its institutional framework.

„Without a final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, it will not be possible to make substantive progress towards the European Union, because that is what the EU has set as a criterion. So, this is not a matter of what Kosovo or Serbia wants, but rather what the European Union, as well as the United States, wants. That is why I do not think it is realistic to ask the European Union to accelerate the necessary steps without, above all, resolving the issues that are urgent and vital and crucial for the future, because the final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia will not only affect the two of them, but will have a major impact across the region“, Muhaxhiri told Kosovo Online.

He added that the EU does not want to have even more problems within its structure than it already has.

„I think it is highly unrealistic to ask the European Union to bypass these steps, because the EU has invested a great deal in the dialogue and in trying to find a historic final solution. I do not think it will back down and change its position on this matter. So, all of this is merely populism and a superficial political stance that has no real impact on the European integration agenda“, Muhaxhiri concluded.