EU/Serbia
Accession conditional on progress on Kosovo, Füle tells Belgrade
By Joanna Sopinska | Thursday 23 June 2011
According to the European Commission, Serbia has to normalise its relations with Kosovo in order to get the green light to join the European Union. “Serbia’s contribution to regional cooperation is important for the country to progress on the enlargement path,” Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle told a joint press conference with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, on 23 June in Brussels. “It is important that toward the end of this road a solution to this [Kosovo] issue is found,” he added, urging Belgrade to make “a serious effort” to achieve this goal.
The comment came after a delegation of German parliamentarians of the ruling party, visiting Belgrade on 22 June, reportedly stated that some sort of a solution to the Kosovo issue was needed to secure the support of the German parliament for Serbia’s accession to the European Union. According to Serbian media reports, they explained that the solution could entail Serbia’s nod to Kosovo’s membership of the United Nations and other international organisations. This is something that Serbia “will have to do before concluding EU talks,” the German MPs insisted.
Belgrade has been refusing to recognise Kosovo as an independent country since February 2008, when Pristina issued a declaration of independence and seceded from Serbia. Under international pressure, Belgrade agreed, however, to engage in a dialogue with Pristina to solve all practical problems without touching upon the political issue of recognition. Jeremic said that the first “important results” of this dialogue are to be expected “soon”. On a more general note, he pledged that “regional cooperation will remain a key priority for the Serbian government”.
Serbia hopes to get the green light to opening EU accession talks from the Commission and the European Council, in October and December, respectively.
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