Adis Ahmetovic, Member of the German Bundestag and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, will travel to Belgrade and Sarajevo where, over the five-day trip, he will focus on talks about EU integration and a reliable EU accession perspective for the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as overcoming the region's ethnic divisions.

“Parts of the political elite in Serbia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in other countries of the Western Balkans, are actively contributing to further fragmentation and destabilization of the region and torpedoing efforts to create a strong, pluralistic democracy. Open considerations of drawing new borders in the Western Balkans along ethnic lines should be a warning sign. This ethno-nationalism must be stopped,” said Adis Ahmetovic, member of the Bundestag and rapporteur of the SPD parliamentary group for the Western Balkans. “We urgently need to break the spiral of constant undermining of the Dayton Peace Agreement. This approach is worrying and poses significant foreign and security policy risks for the EU,” stresses Adis Ahmetovic. In this context, the Social Democrat sees Germany in a special role: “We need a new start in Germany's Western Balkans policy. Otherwise, the influence of restrictive forces such as from Russia, China or Hungary will increase.”

The trip to Belgrade will begin with talks with the German ambassador and an exchange with representatives of civil society on the domestic situation in Serbia. On Thursday, the Member of the Bundestag will meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. A discussion on the situation of the Roma in Serbia will be followed by a meeting with Jadranka Joksimovic, Minister for European Integration of the Republic of Serbia. In addition, further meetings are planned with representatives of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on EU Integration, as well as with politicians from the opposition. The Serbian part of the trip will conclude on Friday morning with an exchange with Nikola Selakovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, and a visit to the Center for Cultural Decontamination.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ahmetovic will meet the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Denis Zvizdic, in Sarajevo on Friday afternoon. In the evening, Ahmetovic will meet with students from the University of Sarajevo to discuss German foreign policy. Saturday begins with a tour of the Old City – together with Bosnian Presidential member Zeljko Komsic as well as Edin Forto, the prime minister of Sarajevo Canton. On the occasion of the 1994 grenade attack, they will lay a wreath in the market square. Afterwards, they will take a cable car up Mount Trebevic, where Ahmetovic will discuss the issue of air pollution together with environmental activists. Later in the day, the member of the Bundestag will visit the EUFOR troops in Camp Butmir. On Sunday, the trip will conclude with a visit to the War Childhood Museum and a meeting with representatives of “Schüler helfen leben”.

“Instead of continuing to tear open ethnic divides, all forces should work toward a strong future for the region. In doing so, the young generation in particular must be reached. The Western Balkans region has much to contribute culturally, historically and economically to a common European future. The EU and Germany therefore stand by the promise of a reliable EU accession perspective for the states of the
Western Balkans,” said Ahmetovic.