MEP Von Cramon: It depends on Belgrade whether it will proceed with the recognition of Kosovo

"Pristina must create an Association of Serbian Municipalities (ASM), and it depends on Belgrade whether it will take a step towards the de facto recognition of Kosovo," said MEP and EP rapporteur for Kosovo Viola von Cramon. According to her, the decision of the government of Serbia to recognize the license plates of Kosovo is a step in this direction.
In an interview with RTK, Von Cramon spoke about the liberalization of the visa regime for Kosovo, the EU's punitive measures, as well as the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, i.e. ASM, the recognition of RKS plates and the normalization of relations, reported "KoSSev".
Referring to the fact that Kosovo was granted visa liberalization on January 1, the EP rapporteur said that she "feels ashamed that the citizens of Kosovo have waited so long" because the criteria for visa liberalization set by the EU, were implemented in 2018.
"As for visa liberalization for Kosovo, it has made some things easier, allowing everyone to have equal access to the EU, but what we need to create is an economic perspective in Kosovo and to have an incentive for employment, well-paid jobs places," Von Cramon said.
She also touched on the relations between the government in Kosovo and the opposition.
The MEP stated that the degree of maturity of democracy depends not only on the stability of the government, but also on the rights enjoyed by the opposition.
She also said that she would like things to move towards European integration, but also emphasized that this depends on the commitment of the Kosovo government.
Asked about the possibility of Kosovo being recognized by Serbia, Von Kramon said it was difficult to predict whether this would happen.
She argued that "great pressure" is needed from the EU and the US "to ensure that situations like the one in Banska never happen again, and to see that Serbia also fulfills its obligations." .
"What we want to see and work in this direction is the adoption of the Ohrid agreement, the selective approach that Serbia is demonstrating is unacceptable," Von Cramon stated.
In connection with the decision of the Serbian government to recognize the license plates of RKS, i.e. to allow vehicles with such plates to drive in central Serbia without stickers, Von Cramon said he saw this as a small step in the right direction, but not enough.
"The second step is the actual recognition," emphasized the EP rapporteur.
She stated that full recognition should be worked on, but also noted that things are slowly moving towards normalization.
Von Cramon stated that Kosovo should create an ASM, stressing that without this it will be very difficult to make progress./BGNES