Martens: Germany could have made Kosovo a member of the Council of Europe but didn’t, Vucic has reason to thank Scholz’s advisor

The journalist of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitugn, Michael Martens, has published an editorial about Germany’s initiative for the Resolution on Srebrenica that was adopted at the United Nations, writes Gazeta Express.

Martens spoke about the central role of Germany, however, according to the FAZ journalist, power and politics are not only connected with the past, but also with the future. Here he mentioned everything that happened in the case of Kosovo and the failure of the application for membership in the Council of Europe.

In a long article on his profile in “X” where he shared some of the main points of his editorial, Martens said that a few days before the vote on the Resolution on Srebrenica, Germany was able to use its diplomatic power to voted for Kosovo for membership in the Council of Europe.

“This would have been very important for the region, as Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe would have been a strong signal to all those who consider violence as a solution: This will not be accepted,” wrote Martens.

He says that in addition to sending such a signal that violence is not a solution, it would enable the citizens of Kosovo, including the Serbian minority, to sue governments for human rights violations in the European Court of Human Rights.

“In addition, it would have provided all citizens of Kosovo, including of course the Serbian minority, the right to sue their government for human rights violations in the European Court of Human Rights. It would have put under observation the actions of every government of Kosovo”, says the FAZ journalist.

However, he says that Germany did not do such a thing and adds that within German politics there was a division about how to proceed with the issue of Kosovo. The Green Party, which also includes the German diplomat, Martens says that they have supported Kosovo’s membership, but adds that the Federal Government led by the SPD has been against it. Journalist Martens has also mentioned the reactions of some German politicians against such a position of the Federal Government.

Martens says that, however, there was no benefit from all this. According to him, the president of Serbia, Aleksander Vucic, has reason to thank Chancellor Scholz’s foreign policy adviser, Jens Plotner.

Martens says that “Plotner has his own ideas on how to solve the crisis”. Further, the FAZ journalist mentioned the Franco-German initiative for solving the problem between Kosovo and Serbia.

In September 2022 and again in 2023, Plötner and his French counterpart Emmanuel Bonne traveled to Belgrade and Pristina with their project on how to overcome the Pristina-Belgrade conflict, based on the German-German basic treaty of 1972,” writes Martens.

However, according to the FAZ journalist, the project of the two German and French advisors failed.

“But as could already be predicted at that time, their project failed, because as mediators Plötner and Bonne came to the Balkans empty-handed. Their promise of a “European perspective” for Kosovo and Serbia amounts to nothing. It was (and is) hot air”, adds the FAZ journalist.

Michael Martens in his writing said that later, it was a real opportunity to produce more than “hot air”, with the introduction of Kosovo into the Council of Europe. However, he says that Germany and France were not alone in their position to condition Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. Here I also mention the reaction of Trump’s former emissary, Richard Grenell, who praised the letter of the three prime ministers sent to Kurt.

“A few months later, a real opportunity for regional progress could have produced more than just hot air: Kosovo’s entry into the Council of Europe. It would have been important for the stability of the region. Unfortunately… (Some details about the debate here).. to be fair, Germany and France were not alone in their stance to deny the citizens of Kosovo access to the European Court of Human Rights. Richard Grenell, Donald Trump’s former envoy for the Balkans, thought they were doing a great job. A well-deserved compliment”, Martens wrote, among other things.