Wednesday, December 24th 2025
The April 29 meeting between Merkel and President Macron with presidents Thaçi, Vučić and Balkan leaders in Berlin is seen by expert Johanna Deimel as a signal to Washington and Brussels: No border changes in the Balkans.
On April 29, President Hashim Thaçi, the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić and leaders of the Balkans will meet in Berlin with Chancellor Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. Why was this meeting suddenly called?
Johanna Deimel: Germany is one of those EU countries that have clearly expressed their opposition to Vucic and Thaci’s proposal for border changes. The displacements related to this constitute a great political security risk not only for Kosovo, but for the entire Balkan region. Apparently, the clear criticism and concern that came from Berlin and well-known international personalities and Balkan experts has had its effect.
Should we have high expectations from a meeting at such a level, we have two important heads of the EU, Merkel and Macron?
Germany and France have invited at the highest level to the informal meeting at the end of April. With this, these two countries that after the catastrophic world wars ended their enmity with the Elysee Agreement in 1963, show that normalization is possible, that good neighborly relations are possible after the terrible wars for Kosovo and Serbia as well. At the same time, the German-French tandem with this invitation also gives a clear signal, that Europe, that the EU is ready, committed, that it will have to be sitting at the negotiation table.
Is this meeting the answer of Berlin and Paris to the much-debated issue of changing the borders?
With this meeting, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron send a clear signal towards Washington, and especially towards Brussels. to the EU Commissioner for Foreign Policy, Federica Mogherini. She not only tolerated the negotiations between Thaçi and Vucic, but also encouraged them. For this reason, it had neither the mandate nor the support of all 28 EU members. As a whole, the dialogue that has been taking place in Brussels for years has reached a dead end. Not even the Vucic-Thacci negotiations behind closed doors have advanced his continuation. If a new impulse is now given from Berlin, if clear messages are sent to Pristina, Belgrade and Tirana, that only a comprehensive agreement between Serbia and Kosovo without border changes based on ethnic criteria can be the objective for both countries, for the region and for Europe, then we have managed to gain a lot.
The idea of changing borders is still debated, are there forces behind it that encourage it? tim the idea still exists, but has lost momentum in recent weeks. Yes, both in the USA and the EU there are forces that come out clearly and strongly on the side of Vucic and Thaci. But there is resistance against this, not only in Berlin, but also in other EU countries. A negotiating team has been created in Kosovo, which has a platform supported by the parliament as a basis for negotiation. We don’t know what Thaçi and Vucic’s imaginations are, because there is nothing open on the table.
For the forces supporting the idea of exchanging territories, this is how the agreement would be reached…
I am very convinced that an exchange of territories would not change the fragile situation. There is no “peaceful ethnic cleansing”, that is an intolerable euphemism. The exchange of territories contradicts the basic European values, it contradicts the multi-ethnic basis of the post-war order, after the wars in Yugoslavia and Kosovo 20 years ago. The dialogue, as it took place in Brussels, needs a new impetus, a new format and a clear objective at the end, i.e. the recognition of Kosovo by Serbia and the development of good neighborly relations.
Another problem, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj still insists on 100% customs for Serbian products, despite international criticism. Do you see that there is a plan behind this attitude, where will it come out?
It is right that the imposition of customs duties against Serbian products is strongly criticized as a measure. But it has more symbolic value than real economic character and in my opinion is not the reason why the Brussels dialogue has frozen. It had been stalled since before and none of the parties, neither Belgrade nor Prishtina, at the moment have any interest in continuing the dialogue in the form it was before. Other factors are added to this: EU Commissioner Federica Mogherini will soon leave her post, Vuçiqi faces street pressure, in Kosovo there is rivalry between President Thaçi and Prime Minister Haradinaj. Thaçi with the talks behind closed doors with Vucic is very isolated in Kosovo. The calculation made by Haradinaj is that with a “strong stance” even in terms of customs, he can stay in power, because the majority of citizens are really against secret negotiations and an exchange of territories.
20 years ago there was a war in Kosovo, how would you assess the situation in this country today?
Kosovo has come a long way. Today it is an independent country, still fighting for international recognition, and through Belgrade’s influence there is still a “frozen conflict” in the north of the country that has caused many obstacles and international and national blockades. But over the years, we have seen that the Serbian citizens in the south of Kosovo, at least in the south of Ibari, have slowly gained more confidence in political institutions. This is of course dedicated to the Ahtisaari Package and the constitution of 2008, which established a guarantee and basis for ethnic coexistence.
But the wounds of the war are still deep, they also await the concrete work of the Special Court for war crimes in Kosovo. Kosovo and Serbia need a common confrontation of the past. It is true that the reconstruction after the war has been successful, but the vitality of the state is still affected by the weight of the past. It cannot be the case that former KLA fighters are still in office and are still acting based on the logic of the war at that time.
And let’s take a look at the future…
In Kosovo, no real reforms were made towards a liberal social order and a functioning legal state with economic development. We still have a system defined by corruption, nepotism. This hurts Kosovo today. I see a danger for the future, because in the meantime a post-war generation has grown up that understands that its chances have been stolen. That is why we need the liberalization of visas to prevent a radicalization of the political situation and to give young people a future./DW./
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