Germans tell Croatia: Stop blocking Serbia, it's not a good tool

European Union member states should behave in the European spirit and seek solutions through dialogue, not blockades, said the head of the European Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag Günther Krichbaum (CDU) for Deutsche Welle, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

In an interview titled "We have no understanding for the Croatian blockade," Krichbaum states that blocking the opening of negotiation chapters in Serbia's EU integration process is not a good tool.

- I have no understanding for the demands from Croatia because these are bilateral issues that we expect to be resolved in the designated modules and courts - that's what we have international courts for. But I have no understanding for the fact that chapters 23 and 24 have been blocked - Krichbaum told Deutsche Welle.

When asked why he mentions courts, he replies that there are generally mechanisms for resolving all issues, even when countries are having discussions or arguments.

- In such cases, it is normal to expect the countries involved to resolve the problems among themselves, and not for the European Union to be misused for these purposes, meaning that its own membership in the EU is used as leverage to enforce bilateral demands that have existed for a long time. I remind you that Croatia was in a similar situation with Slovenia, when the course of the border in the Bay of Piran was disputed. And we influenced Slovenia to abandon the blockade then - Krichbaum recalls.

When asked if this means that there is already pressure on Zagreb, he says:

- There is an appropriate European Council format in which this issue will certainly be discussed. I hope Croatia will back down. They should remember how they were helped when they were in a similar situation and that Croatia promised its European partners not to create such blockades. And yet, as we can see, they have done so - Krichbaum said.

He added that Croatia's demands "have nothing to do with the European Union, or only to the extent that minority rights must be protected in the EU".

- But nowhere is it written that this must happen through minority membership in parliament. Minorities are represented in European parliaments in completely different ways. Even in the Federal Republic of Germany, you can see a different model, where minority representatives can enter parliament through established and new parties. Representatives of minorities are on many electoral lists because every party has a great interest in taking care of such matters and gaining new supporters. So, the German way is different, but it does not conflict with European rules in any way. In this sense, it is Serbia's independent decision how it will act in this area.

"Croatia also needs the EU and needs partners from the EU, and Croatia will have goals it wants to achieve. Otherwise, Croatia will quickly realize that its ideas and projects will not be supported either. Because in the European Union, the rule is give and take.

I will give just one example where Croatia backed down: just before accession, the so-called Lex Perković was passed. The German Bundestag was then the last parliament to ratify Croatia's accession to the EU. If Lex Perković had been passed during the accession negotiations, Croatia's accession would certainly not have been ratified in the Bundestag. However, the pressure afterwards paid off and Perković was extradited. All this shows that nothing is set in stone. We advocate for solutions to be sought through dialogue and negotiations because that is the European spirit, and we want EU member states to behave in that spirit too," Krichbaum said.