Von Cramon: Kosovo should establish the CSM

Viola von Cramon, a Member of the European Parliament and the rapporteur for Kosovo, emphasized that Kosovo should establish the Community of Serb Municipalities, stating that progress in the dialogue with Serbia would be very difficult without this process.

Von Cramon also emphasized for RTK that Serbia needed to fully implement its obligations under the Ohrid Agreement, not selectively.

Regarding Serbia's recognition of Kosovo, predicting such an outcome is challenging, as Von Cramon mentioned, adding that strong pressure from the European Union and the United States was necessary to achieve it.

She emphasized that it was crucial to prevent situations like Banjska from recurring and ensure that Serbia fulfilled its recognition obligations.

"What we want to see is their work in that direction, namely accepting the Ohrid Agreement, and we think that the selective approach Serbia has chosen is not acceptable," Von Cramon stated.

Speaking about visa liberalization, she expressed regret that Kosovo citizens had waited so long for the lifting of the visa regime for EU countries, as the criteria had been met back in 2018.

"As for visa liberalization for Kosovo, she said that it makes things easier by providing equal access to the European Union for everyone. However, what needs to be achieved is an economic perspective in Kosovo and creating incentives for self-employment and well-paying jobs," she stated.

Regarding her visit to Kosovo, Cramon said she had met with various representatives from both the opposition and the government. As she added, the situation in Kosovo was somewhat complex, and a long journey lies ahead with a certain level of frustration due to things not going as they should.

She pointed out that the maturity of democracy depended not only on the stability of the government but also on the rights enjoyed by the opposition.

"On the one hand, this is a good thing; there is a stable majority in parliament. On the other hand, however, the maturity of democracy depends not only on the stability of the government but also on the rights enjoyed by the opposition, as well as on the treatment in communication with the opposition. Currently, I believe that things can be improved," Von Cramon assessed.

She expressed hope that Kosovo would move toward European integration but noted that it would require more commitment from the government.