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German media write about the collapse of the General Staff in Belgrade, Novak Djokovic's decision to move to Athens, and why the current EU expansion would be "irresponsible."
“'Demolition by shortcuts, the former General Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army in Belgrade will be removed for the construction project of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner,” writes the German newspaper Spiegel on its website.
In an article based on agency reports, Spiegel states that on Friday the Serbian parliament passed a special law that gives special importance to the project in the center of Belgrade and that construction permits will be issued more quickly.
“The Serbian public is divided about Affinity Partners' plan to transform the space into a luxury hotel skyscraper,” Spiegel continues.
"President Aleksandar Vučić, who has hosted Kushner in Belgrade several times, is personally committed to this venture," this media outlet writes.
For many Serbs, the newspaper estimates, the building is an important place, a symbol of the open wound of the 1999 bombings.
"As early as 2005, the remains of the building built in 1965 were declared cultural property, but there was no reconstruction. Last year, the status of a cultural monument was removed - a little later, Kushner's Miami-based company signed a 99-year lease agreement," writes Spiegel.
Likewise, the German sports agency SID writes about Novak Djokovic's decision to move to Athens under the headline: "Serbian national hero chooses a new homeland."
Djokovic is also moving "his" ATP tournament, which has been held in Belgrade for years, to the Greek capital.
The text says he appreciated the Greek hospitality, but says nothing about why he is turning his back on Serbia. "It is clear that the situation at home has changed for Djokovic," SID states.
The country, it is recalled, was rocked by a wave of student protests after a tent collapse in Novi Sad claimed 16 lives. “The protesters blame corruption in the country,” she adds.
When Djokovic supported the protests, "according to media reports, the course of Vučić's support changed. Recently, a mural dedicated to Djokovic in Belgrade was vandalized with black paint."
"Irresponsible" EU enlargement
The Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung newspaper takes a look at the European Commission's progress reports, noting that it has been a long time since so many commendable things have happened, from Montenegro and Albania to Moldova and Ukraine.
“The imminent membership of Montenegro and Albania – with North Macedonia also emerging as a candidate on the horizon – could help curb Serbia’s aspirations in the region. Leading politicians there are once again fantasizing about a Greater Serbia. This is, among other things, why negotiations with Serbia, which is governed autocratically, and with Bosnia and Herzegovina, which depends on it, have little chance of success.”
However, the newspaper is fundamentally skeptical of EU enlargement. As it writes, the EU itself should change and introduce the principle of majority decision-making instead of consensus.
"It would be irresponsible to admit new members in its current state and in a way that is irresponsible towards these candidates. Anyone who wants the EU to expand by 2030 should talk less about the need for reforms in Podgorica, Tirana, Chisinau and Kiev, and more about the reforms needed in Brussels itself," the newspaper adds.
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