Kacin: Serbia lost Kosovo in 1999

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin said that Serbia should accept Kosovo independence. He said that "once Serbia recognized the province’s right to self-determination, it could become the motor for the rest of the region in its bid for European integration." Kacin: Serbia lost Kosovo in 1999 Kacin, whose report on Serbia was adopted by the European Parliament last week, told Austrian daily Der Standard that it was Slobodan Milosevic who had deprived Serbia of Kosovo. As far as Serbia’s continued claims to the province were concerned, Kacin said that Kosovo had de facto ceased to be a part of Serbia in 1999, and that that was, he said, “end of story,” “When Milosevic repealed Kosovo's autonomous status he effectively severed Kosovo from Serbia. That was a political decision with consequences that Serbia has to come to terms with,” Kacin said. “As soon as it is mature enough to accept Kosovo independence, Serbia will become the epicenter of positive change. Serbia will be able to become the motor of the western Balkans, just as Germany was and remains the motor of the European Union." "But, we need to wait and give Serb and Kosovo Albanian officials a chance to negotiate,” he concluded.

Kacin: Serbia lost Kosovo in 1999

Kacin, whose report on Serbia was adopted by the European Parliament last week, told Austrian daily Der Standard that it was Slobodan Milošević who had deprived Serbia of Kosovo.

As far as Serbia’s continued claims to the province were concerned, Kacin said that Kosovo had de facto ceased to be a part of Serbia in 1999, and that that was, he said, “end of story,”

“When Milošević repealed Kosovo's autonomous status he effectively severed Kosovo from Serbia. That was a political decision with consequences that Serbia has to come to terms with,” Kacin said.

“As soon as it is mature enough to accept Kosovo independence, Serbia will become the epicenter of positive change. Serbia will be able to become the motor of the western Balkans, just as Germany was and remains the motor of the European Union."

"But, we need to wait and give Serb and Kosovo Albanian officials a chance to negotiate,” he concluded.