Marta Kos, the Slovenian candidate for EU Enlargement Commissioner, stated on Thursday that she would not follow the trends of territorial exchanges between Kosovo and Serbia.
She made these comments during a hearing in the European Parliament (EP), where she responded to questions from Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
“When it comes to territorial exchange, no. No. The European Commission and I, if confirmed, will not follow these trends,” she said when asked about the ideas of territorial exchange between Kosovo and Serbia, which, according to the MEP who asked the question, could be back on the table after Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.
The previous Trump administration had said it would not oppose a territorial exchange between Kosovo and Serbia to resolve their dispute, provided that both Pristina and Belgrade would develop a “mutually satisfactory solution.”
Kos was also asked about her possible role in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.
She expressed her willingness to work with Kaja Kallas, who is expected to be confirmed as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and take on the mediation of the dialogue between the two neighboring countries.
“Formally, the dialogue is in the hands of Kaja Kallas. I will certainly work with her. Since I know this region and its mentality, I want to collaborate in this area. Let’s move forward. It has been very formal until now,” she said.
She also stated that she expects both Kosovo and Serbia to implement the agreement on the normalization of relations, which they agreed to in early 2023 under the EU-mediated dialogue.
However, Kos warned that “if things do not go well, we must find a new path,” quoting Albert Einstein: “It is madness to keep doing the same thing every day and expect a different result.”
