Germany has appointed its first special envoy to the region in an effort to “show more presence” in the Western Balkans and put their concerns high up on Berlin’s agenda, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced during a visit to Sarajevo on Thursday.
“I have come to you with a clear message: Germany will show more presence here in your country and in the whole Western Balkans”, Baerbock told a press conference after meeting with her Bosnian counterpart Bisera Turkovic in Sarajevo. This is why Germany had created the special envoy position, the German foreign minister added as quoted by EURACTIV.de on Friday.
Manuel Sarrazin, a former lawmaker in the Bundestag who often appeared as a strong advocate for the region’s interests, will take up the role. Currently heading Germany’s South-Eastern Europe Association, Sarrazin called his new position a “dream job.”
“He will make sure that the concerns of this region are on the very top of the agenda in Berlin,” Baerbock said.
At the European level, the EU External Action Service already has special representatives for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and other regional Western Balkan issues, including for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
Baerbock’s visit to Sarajevo is part of a multi-day trip during which she is also set to visit Kosovo, Serbia and Moldova. The visit comes amid recent discussions over granting Ukraine EU membership or candidate status, which has sparked concerns that the Western Balkans could be left behind in terms of EU accession.
Meanwhile, government spokespeople refused to comment on whether Serbia’s hesitancy to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will also be a topic of discussion during Baerbock’s visit to Belgrade.
The German delegation will not visit Albania and North Macedonia who hope to open accession talks this year.
No mention has been made on the progress of the ‘Berlin Process’ initiative launched by former Chancellor Merkel as there has been suspicions that the new government in Berlin will not invest ‘energy’ in this project.
/Argumentum.al
