Fleckenstein: Progress Will Be Difficult Withaout Most Important Part of Opposition

Knut Fleckenstein (YouTube screenshot)

German politician Knut Fleckenstein who as a member of a European Parliament delegation recently participated in partisan dialog between the authorities and a portion of the opposition on improving conditions for free and fair elections in Serbia, does not believe that there can be progress by the next elections if the most important part of the opposition does not join the talks and if the ruling majority remains inflexible.

"In the middle-term, I see an opportunity for the Serbian Parliament to organize itself so that the opposition can contribute to the functioning of the Parliament. In the short-term up until the next election it will be very hard if the most important of the opposition does not participate in talks and most of the ruling parties remain inflexible," Fleckenstein told the International Politics and Society website on Nov. 26.

"We must be careful about what we say because we do not want one side to win. Our goal is to contribute to the normal business as usual functioning of the opposition and ruling parties so that we can help there be fair conditions for elections in Serbia," he said.

Asked how the recent decision to not begin accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania had affected the entire region's eurointegration process, Fleckenstein said that "the results are catastrophic" and "they will not only hit North Macedonia and Albania but Serbia for example."