President of the Austrian association "Friends of Kosovo": The agreement in Ohrid is important, but there are still many steps ahead

The MP of the ruling Austrian People's Party, who was recently elected as the president of the Austrian association "Friends of Kosovo", Andreas Minnich, assessed that the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia in Ohrid was very important, but that there were still many steps to be taken towards the common goal - the normalization of relations and times in the European Union.

"The Ohrid agreement is important, although the main goal has not been achieved. Such steps are important because many small steps are often needed to achieve a big goal. The Ohrid agreement is crucial for the European path of Kosovo and Serbia, and the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is crucial for the future of the Western Balkans," Minnich told Kosovo Online.

He pointed out that more good solutions and agreements were needed, including the one regarding the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

He is convinced that the next months would see a positive development in the process of forming the CSM.

He added that, if an agreement was reached, there would be a good basis for the path toward the normalization of relations.

Mincich believes that Pristina is aware of the importance of this topic and that there is a desire for progress on this issue.

When asked if it was important to respect the agreements that had already been reached, because Pristina refused to do so in the case of the CSM, he said that it was always good to go back and that the most important thing was to "help each other".

As he says, in politics you can see that a lot is changing and that "it is not unusual to negotiate something over and over again".

Mincich underlined that it was important for Serbia and Kosovo to continue the European path.

"It is especially important for Serbia. Many foreign investors are just waiting for positive signals in order to invest in Serbia and thus contribute to the development and growth of welfare. If Serbia were to give a hand to Kosovo, a lot could happen in the country," Minnich is convinced.

When asked whether a final solution could be expected by the end of the year, which was what the EU and the US were hoping for, Minnich says that he hopes it is possible.

"I hope that this year a lot will move forward. Both countries should approach each other and realize a common goal. This requires compromises, a lot of conversation, and in the end, of course, looking at the whole picture and the common goal," explained the deputy who is a member of the parliamentary group with Serbia.

Minnich is convinced that the EU could change the current mood in Serbia towards the European path, which was at a low level, through investing in large infrastructure projects.

"I think something like that would be a reasonable undertaking by the EU," he stressed.

Asked why Austria became passive in solving the Kosovo issue, he said that official Vienna had not "retreated to the back row", but that the big players the US and EU came to the fore.

"But Austria still has an interest in resolving this issue. Austria knows best the importance of the Balkans for Europe and has always supported the European integration of that region. Austria has supported, and will continue to support, the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU," he underlined.

Minnich said that he had taken on the new position because he considered the Western Balkans a very important European region, where many people living in Austria came from.

"A united Europe has always been important to me, and it is important that we do not forget about the countries of the Western Balkans, which we should accept. That is one of my goals and motives," he emphasized.

He also said that he had many friends from Serbia and Kosovo, with whom he hung out, and that it was incomprehensible to him how they could go out together and socialize in Austria, and that it was not possible for those two people to live together in Kosovo.

"It is necessary to put the past aside, in order to give young people a chance. We had that in Austria as well," Minnich emphasized.