An unofficial European Union diplomatic note seen by Reuters on the redrawing of ethnic borders in the Western Balkans has caused distress and anguish in Bosnia, which fears an unexpected shift in EU strategy.
The document was first leaked to the Slovenian media and attributed to Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who reportedly sent it to European Council President Charles Michel as a proposal on how to deal with the region. after Slovenia took over the EU presidency in July.
But Jansa denied sending the document and accused the “fake media” of trying to harm Slovenia’s efforts to help integrate the Western Balkan states into the rich bloc.
The EU did not comment, but a Brussels diplomat told Reuters that EU member states have not discussed the document.
Reuters has not been able to verify the authenticity of the diplomatic note, although it has circulated on official EU channels and has been seen by many EU diplomats and officials.
The document states that the main obstacles to faster EU integration of the Balkan states are the unresolved national issues of Serbs, Croats and Albanians, which should be resolved by creating a Greater Serbia, a Greater Albania and a Greater Croatia. .
The document proposes that the Autonomous Republic of Bosnia of Bosnia join Serbia, that the Croatian-dominated cantons of Bosnia be integrated into Croatia, and that Kosovo merge with Albania.
“We have never seen this proposal if it exists,” Bulgaria’s EU spokesman in Brussels told Reuters.
These diplomatic notes are common in EU policy-making. Although they are not made public, EU states are usually happy to claim ownership if they allow them.
In Bosnia, where 100,000 people died in nearly four years of war during the 1990s, during which Serbs and Croats had tried to form their own ethnic statutes, this note has been perceived as a new threat to their territorial unity. , this time by the EU. member countries.
Sefik Dzaferovic, the Bosnian member of Bosnia’s three-man interethnic presidency, told Michel in a letter on Friday that the document has caused instability and anguish in Bosnia, where Bosnian Serbs have spoken for years about his secession. Bosnia region.
Dzaferovic immediately urged Michel to put an end to initiatives that could provoke a new war in the region.
The EU delegation in Bosnia tried to calm the situation, saying in a statement: “The EU is unequivocally committed to the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina … this is our firm position and unaltered “.
German European Minister Michael Roth wrote on Twitter on Friday: “#WesternBalkans countries only have a future as multiethnic and multi-religious societies. Regional reconciliation and cooperation are the keys to peace, democracy and peace. prosperity. Drawing new boundaries is a dangerous path. “
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