Merkel, Macron to host Balkans meeting in Berlin
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/04/merkel-macron-to-host-balkans-meeting.html
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French
President Emmanuel Macron are hosting a meeting of Balkan leaders in
Berlin, a move intended to restart deadlocked talks between Serbia and
Kosovo.
The meeting on Monday will include the leaders of
Kosovo and Serbia, several Western Balkans leaders and the European
Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini.
Main issues will include Serbia’s refusal to acknowledge the 2008
independence of Kosovo, high mutual tariffs, as well as controversial
suggestions of a land swap between the two.
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci told German news agency dpa in an
interview ahead of the meeting that “Serbia has to recognize Kosovo’s
national existence without any precondition.”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is thought to be seeking changes
to Kosovo’s borders as part of an overall agreement — something not
welcomed by many EU states.
