European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, said today that the best way out of Serbia’s political crisis is through comprehensive reforms, especially regarding media and the electoral process.
Speaking before the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Kos stated that a first step has been taken with the initiation of procedures for appointing the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM).
“But real progress in Serbia depends on restoring public trust and engaging all stakeholders. I also told President (of Serbia) Aleksandar Vučić that his visit to Moscow sends the wrong signal and complicates our efforts to advocate for Serbia,” said Kos.
She pointed to Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, and Moldova as examples of successful reforms, adding that there is a real chance for one or two additional countries to become EU members during this mandate.
“We need to move forward with them to show that reforms are bearing fruit,” she stated.
Kos reiterated that EU enlargement, in the current geopolitical context, is a necessity for uniting Europe and ensuring its security.
“We want partners who will contribute to our security and defense just as we contribute to theirs,” she said.
She emphasized the seriousness of the current momentum for enlargement, highlighting that more negotiation clusters were opened in the past six months than in the previous five years.
“Together with member states, the European Commission is finding ways to simplify the accession process to prevent bilateral issues from blocking enlargement in this very sensitive geopolitical context,” Marta Kos stated.
“Dodik’s Separatist Policy Is Pulling the Country Backward”
Marta Kos also said in Brussels that the political stalemate in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) continues to slow down the country’s progress toward the European Union (EU), and that the separatist policy of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik is dragging the country backward.
“Dodik’s separatist policies are taking the country backward, not forward, and it is time for those who believe in BiH’s future in the EU to join forces and implement reforms,” Kos said during a meeting with MEPs in the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee today.
She stressed her support for all parties and actors engaged in the EU path and urged the country to take the necessary steps toward a negotiation framework, declaring: “The EU’s door remains open, but BiH must now fulfill its remaining obligations.”
