Schider: There is will in Tirana and Podgorica, while there is none in official Belgrade

SOURCE: INSAJDER- AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS

European Parliament rapporteur for Albania Andreas Schider says in an interview with Insajder that there is will in Tirana and Podgorica, while there is none in official Belgrade.

In Serbia, Cluster 3, which contains eight negotiation chapters, is still closed, with no indication of when it might be opened. This puts Serbia on a road with obstacles, while Montenegro and Albania are passing by in a fast lane. The former has opened all negotiation chapters and closed six, while the latter has opened 19 since October last year alone, while Serbia has opened 22 in ten years.

When asked by Insajder what the difference is between Serbia, Albania and Montenegro, given that they all face similar problems and are required to do more work on the fight against organized crime, freedom of the media, freedom of speech, Schider says that the difference is in the will.

“We know, these are the same problems and no country is perfect. By the way, not all 27 member states are perfect either. The issue of fighting corruption is very important, the existence of a functional rule of law and a judicial system is important. For example, in Albania they have done this “vetting process”, an extremely difficult reform, but now they have passed it and have a modernized judicial system. They have SPAK, which investigates, some say too much, but – people from all political parties have been under investigation, there were some who ended up in prison. This is a clear signal that someone wants change. The media situation, transparency – yes, these are open questions.

But, my feeling is that in Belgrade, instead of moving forward and getting out of a complicated situation, the current government is making the problems even bigger. No one has an interest in the media being more transparent, no one has an interest in investigating the fight against corruption and that is the real problem. We know that no country is perfect, but the will to go in the right direction is currently lacking in Belgrade,” says Schider.

He further explains that the economic situation is similar.

“People, it doesn’t matter if they are Serbs, Montenegrins, Albanians, Macedonians, whoever – they want to join the European Union. They all want to work hard, they all want to send their children to school, they are willing to make reforms. The difference is in the government. Brave people are brave everywhere,” adds the Austrian MEP.

The issue of Kosovo remains a topic of discussion in the European integration process, especially among the domestic public. Some of them see it as the reason why Serbia is standing, while Schider says that this is not the case.

“I know that there is such a feeling. Many friends from Serbia tell me the same thing and I understand why they feel that way, but I have to say – no. When we talk about freedom of the media, the fight against corruption, the functioning of the rule of law, the modernization of the economy – it has nothing to do with the Kosovo issue. These are reforms that are important for Serbia, they are not important for some other issues”; Andreas Schider, MEP and rapporteur of the European Parliament for Albania, emphasized in an interview for Insider.

As he says, one of the main reasons why Serbia is not progressing is the feeling that everyone has, which is that reforms are not continuing and that the country is going backwards, that the government is pushing the country backwards.

“This has become even clearer in recent weeks when Aleksandar Vučić paid tribute to Vladimir Putin. These days we have also met students who are protesting. What they are fighting for, they summed up in a simple sentence: we want to have a functional state. That could be the concept of how the country is moving forward, as well as the concept of introducing it into the European Union,” says the MEP and rapporteur of the European Parliament for Albania in an interview with Insider.

The country received candidate status in 2014, and it waited a full ten years for the opening of negotiations. It welcomed them in October last year and has been making rapid progress since then – it has opened 19 negotiation chapters, and there could be more soon.

"Albania has opened two clusters, it is now opening a third and fourth. The plan is to not only open, but also close all clusters by 2027. We have to say: opening is important, closing is even more important and more difficult, and implementing reforms is even more difficult. But they are very engaged. I have to say the same for other neighbors - Montenegro. They are also engaged and motivated, and I think that is very important, because we need that positive motivation. Joining the European Union is a huge job, difficult reforms need to be implemented, but if you have a strong interest in doing it quickly, I think it is very important," Schider tells Insider.