The European Parliament’s rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula, said today that Serbia’s upcoming elections will be crucial in determining the future dynamics of relations between the European Union and Serbia.
“It seems to me that the key criterion in assessing the future relationship between Brussels and Belgrade will be the elections. The preparation of these elections, their implementation and conduct, as well as the post-election period, will, I believe, be a decisive moment in the future dynamics of EU–Serbia relations,” Picula told N1 television.
He added that the European Parliament’s Resolution on Serbia reflects a consistent position regarding developments in the country.
“We will see in the near future whether the European Commission will repeat its criticism or whether certain interests—primarily those of some highly influential member states—will prevail,” Picula said.
Picula also described Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s proposal that the entire Western Balkans should join the European Union together as “an attempt to collectivize something that cannot be collectivized.”
“It is an attempt to collectivize something that cannot be done, because there are currently ten candidate countries waiting to join the EU, and the differences between them are far too significant to ignore or to plan another major enlargement all at once. I do not believe this is possible, especially regarding the six Western Balkan candidates. The fact that Serbia has not achieved sufficient results to move forward is not only the assessment of the European Parliament, but also the view of a considerable number of EU member states,” he said.
