Former German Minister for Europe, Michael Roth, has admitted that he was wrong in his approach to Kosovo's European integration process, saying that for years he had believed that progress in the dialogue with Serbia was the main condition for Kosovo's rapprochement with the European Union.
In a conversation on the PIKċ podcast with the publicist Veton SurroiRoth said that over time he realized that this approach was not fair, as the dialogue was not balanced between the two parties.
"I thought for a very long time that only significant progress in the normalization dialogue brings Kosovo closer to the EU. And that was a mistake," Roth declared.
According to him, progress in the dialogue was much more important for Kosovo than for Serbia, which created the opportunity for Belgrade to use the process as a means of blocking Pristina.
"In the end, the normalization dialogue was never a well-balanced thing. For Belgrade, progress in the dialogue was not as important as it was for Kosovo. So it was very easy for Belgrade and Aleksandar Vučić to block Kosovo," he said.
Roth also criticized the European Union's approach to authoritarian leaders in the region, saying that Europe has not always sent them clear messages about their geopolitical orientation.
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He stressed that the EU has made mistakes by tolerating politicians who, according to him, benefited from European funds and support, while at the same time strengthening ties with Russia.
According to Roth, the experience with leaders like Vučić and former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shows that European democracies have often underestimated the ability of authoritarian leaders to exploit the weaknesses of Western policies.
