Journalist and sociologist Zoran Panovic told N1, referring to yesterday’s Brussels summit, that it turned out pompous, and hollow – with a lot of phrases. Obviously, the pressure was there, Panovic said.
Panovic estimates that there is a paradox concerning the relations between Serbia and Germany – personal, Vucic’s and other links are best with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany, and Germany has the most strident attitude towards Kosovo. “In some other matters, it is on the side of Serbia, and in the Kosovo case it is not.”
The Berlin summit showed that, in his opinion, it had a Yugoslav dimension. “The fact that there is no Yugoslavia does not mean that the crisis does not have a Yugoslav character, and that is seen,” he says, adding that there is now some type of arbitrary power center in Berlin and Paris, so Merkel gathers Balkan countries.
These countries do not have the strength to step up in some sort of scandinavisation of this space, without involvement from the side – without the US, and Russia supporting it, it is difficult to make a stronger step forward, Panovic estimates.
Speaking of Kosovo, he says that it is a multi-year problem and that there is no model that was not mentioned. When asked what woken up French interest in dealing with Kosovo in the way Germany does, Panovic says that he does not think that this is just because of the problems on the Belgrade-Pristina route. “It is more important for France to return as a great power in Europe; Kosovo is part of that puzzle, like some sort of Renaissance of France as a force, and some sort of promoting Macron as a leader.”
Panovic recalls that France has brutally told Serbia some things, when it comes to the EU, and that’s that we will not probably be there soon.
Kosovo is a generational problem, I think that for some stronger and bigger countries, if they had Kosovo – it would be a very complex problem to them also, so one should not expect something to be easy, as it is not, he added.
The newly-composed narratives and taboo topic of war in the region, when you look at some of our media, you have the feeling that we are returning not to the nineties, but to the late eighties, Panovic estimates. “The same dilemmas – endangerment, Serbs, Croats, Albanians, bakers, attacks, it’s depressing, it’s a kind of cyclical crisis that revolves around this region … We, when we would take a right step in this region – to change something, we would have to get to the topic that everyone is fleeing from, which is the problem of Yugoslavia, the problem of wars – why and how, and nobody wants to hear it, that is a taboo topic.
Elite cannot face all this, said N1 guest, adding that all nations and states have made their newly-composed narratives, which are a combination of the liberation component, the fight for sovereignty, which also has criminal components, and on the other, they have “anti-Yugoslav” character.
You cannot step out, without delegitimization some of narratives in this context, and it’s really difficult, Panovic says to N1. “When you read, in Croatia will continue to talk about the Serbian hegemonic mentality, so Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic says that Albanians and Croats are brothers in arms …”
