Ambassador says Germany “not pressuring” anyone

Source: Tanjug, Kurir

BELGRADE -- Germany is not pressuring Belgrade or Priština to reach an agreement because Germany is just one of the EU member states, the German ambassador to Serbia says.

Heinz Wilhelm (Tanjug, file)
Heinz Wilhelm (Tanjug, file)

Heinz Wilhelm told Belgrade-based tabloid Kurir that all decisions were made through a consensus and that Serbia’s EU integration pathway would depend on results of the Belgrade-Priština dialogue.

“The final decision on a date for the start of the EU accession negotiations, when it comes to Germany, will be made by Bundestag,” he was quoted as saying.

Wilhelm added that he very much liked what he had seen in Serbia.

The German ambassador explained that the “negotiations between Belgrade and Priština concerned the two sides” and that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton was a mediator who helped find an adequate solution.

“Germany is not exerting any pressure on anyone,” he stressed and added that Germany was a powerful country but that a consensus was necessary for all decisions.

According to him, all EU member states independently made their decisions and a delegation of the ruling Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) will come to Serbia in April to assess the situation so Bundestag could make the right decision.