Germany has appointed former Bundestag member Manuel Sarrazin, from the Alliance 90 / The Greens to the post of the government's special envoy for the Western Balkans.

“We have decided to appoint Manuel Sarrazin to the post of the Federal Government's Special Envoy for the countries of the Western Balkans. I am particularly happy about this because I appreciate Manuel Sarrazin very much and know exactly how passionately he is committed to the interests of the Western Balkans,” said Foreign Affairs Minister, Annalena Baerbock.

“Especially in the current situation, the stability and European perspective of the Western Balkans is Germany's top strategic priority. As the Federal Government, we have created the post of Special Envoy in order to work together with the six states in a very targeted manner on development prospects and to provide them with the best possible support in ongoing reform processes,” she said.

Baerbock explained that Sarrazin will work closely with the EU Special Representative for the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, and the High Representative in BiH tasked with overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, Christian Schmidt.

“A strong, stable Western Balkans based on peace will also decide the future of the EU in south-eastern Europe,” she said.