EC Annual Report on Serbia: Main problem – sanctions against Russia

Head of the European Union delegation to Belgrade, Emanuele Giaufret, has pointed out the importance of Serbia’s alignment with the EU’s foreign policy, stating that Brussels „counts heavily“ on Serbia.

At a joint conference after a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, at which he was handed over the European Commission’s annual Report on Serbia’s progress on the European path, Giaufret said that the alignment of EU candidate countries with the EU’s foreign policy concerned a „common future“.

„We expect membership candidates to progressively align with the EU’s foreign and security policy, in line with the negotiating framework. We count heavily on Serbia and all our partners whom we consider to be allies, it is important that they align with the EU in the field of security,“said Giaufret.

He pointed out that in the period from June 2021 to June this year, to which the Report refers, Serbia went most backwards in the field of foreign policy, since its level of compliance with the EU’s foreign and security policy dropped from 64 percent to 45 percent.

„This is related to the fact that Serbia did not join the restrictive measures against Russia and the recommendations of the head of European diplomacy (Josep Borrell). Today, the enlargement process is a geostrategic investment in peace more than ever and we should use the opportunity to make the necessary decisions, however difficult they may be, in order to move forward,“said Giaufret.

Izvor: Beta

Foto: EbS