EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn did not directly reply to RFE’s question regarding the idea of “delimitation” to solve the Kosovo issue.
B92 reported, quoting RFE, that he stressed that in order to resolve any bilateral conflict, any possible solution must contribute to the wider stability of the region and should not be at the expense of others in the region.
“Now we must to see the bigger picture which means that matter what the solution is, it must be such that it does not go to the detriment of others,” Hahn said.
To the repeated question of whether this means that exchange of territory is not being ruled out, he said that he “thinks that this should be left to them, for that to discuss it.”
“They now know very clearly what our conditional framework are and I think that if you want to achieve something, you need to think outside the box. Our conditional framework is to have more stability in the region and that every single solution, any agreement to resolve bilateral conflicts must contribute to the overall stability and development of the region, because in the end, the goal is for all six countries to become members of the European Union,” Hahn said.
Asked whether he was not afraid that the border change could have a negative effect on Bosnia-Herzegovina, FYROM, even eastern Partnership countries, the EU official said he thought it was too early to talk about it.
“They continue to negotiate. Some ideas have come up. Let’s look at it in this way – even now work is being done on further negotiations in order to better align the ideas. I think a package that contians a legally binding agreement between Serbia and Kosovo must contain several elements, and then we will see the final ideas. But I think that both sides are now fully aware of international, I would not say concerns, but constraints, and within that I think that many solutions are possible,” said Hahn.
Asked whether he thinks that a solution could be reached by the end of the mandate of the European Commission at the end of October, he said that “this is not because of the end of the Commission’s mandate.”
“It would be useful if it could be concluded by, say, the summer of next year, in order to take new steps,” Hahn concluded.
