German Ambassador: Western Balkans’ EU Integration To Remain High Priority for Berlin  

Thomas Schieb (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC/MO)

German Ambassador to Serbia Thomas Schieb has said that the EU accession of the Western Balkan countries will remain “a high priority for Germany” also with the Social Democratic Party as the strongest political force.

“During the 16- year chancellorship of Angela Merkel, “a broad coalition” led by the Christian Democratic Union was in power for 12 years, and over those 12 years, a foreign minister was always from the Social Democratic ranks. Both parties have together set the guidelines for Berlin’s current policy on the Western Balkans. So, if a cabinet led by the Social Democrats is formed, continuity would be secured,” Ambassador Schieb had written in an editorial published in the September 28 issue of Belgrade daily Kurir.

He noted that the formation of a new cabinet would still take time “over numerous options for potential coalitions.” “Until then, the incumbent federal government will temporarily remain in office, which means that Angela Merkel may surpass her once mentor Helmut Kohl and become a person with the longest chancellorship in Germany,” Ambassador Schieb noted.