Attacked by Alexander Lukashenko, Photo: Profimedia, EPA / Nikolai Petrov
The European Union hopes that Serbia, as a country in the process of accession to the EU, will harmonize its foreign policy with this community, including the sanctions announced against those responsible for the violence in Belarus. This is the second time something similar has been requested from Serbia in the last two weeks; for the first time, they demanded to renounce the military exercise planned with this country, and Kurir’s interlocutors believe that our country is being blackmailed.
An obligation, but …
– We hope to see soon the announced European sanctions against those responsible for the unacceptable repression in Belarus. We expect countries in the process of accession to the EU to make progress in aligning their policies with EU policies. That is not in doubt – said Peter Stano, EU spokesman, adding that harmonization with the Union’s foreign policy is one of the obligations in the accession process, as well as that the countries that are in that process know it.
photo: Stefan Jokić
Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in a conversation with Kurir that he must first receive an official request to comment on something like this, but his position is known until then: conditioning is the worst face of the EU.
– I am opposed to any sanction and I believe that the policy of sanctions and conditioning is the worst face of the EU and of all those who reach them – said Vulin for Kurir.
According to Chancellor Ivica Dacic, Serbia has an obligation to harmonize its foreign policy with the foreign policy of the European Community, but gradually until accession.
photo: Courier
It’s all part of a higher goal
– It is true that we have an obligation, but little by little until we join the EU, and we will decide on each specific issue separately, taking into account our interests – said Dačić.
On the other hand, former Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic says that the EU will continuously pressure Serbia, because its strategic objective is to separate us from Russia, China and the countries of the Eurasian Union, to which Belarus also belongs.
– We need to see the essence of these demands: to attract Serbia to the western sphere and fight with former partners. There will be more such conditions. Belarus is just a stage, they are more interested in the relationship between Serbia and Russia. It’s one thing to be flexible and one thing to stick with your allies, says Jovanović, adding:
– Serbia, if it wants to preserve itself and its independence, it must say no from time to time. You cannot expect Lukashenko’s support and work on her head together with the EU.
ĐOZEP BORELJ
We do not recognize Lukashenko, sanctions before September 24
photo: Profimedia
The EU does not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as president of Belarus and is preparing to impose sanctions on the country’s officials, the head of European diplomacy, Joseph Borelj, announced yesterday in Brussels.
– We believe that the August 9 elections are false and we do not recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus – said Borelj in the plenary session of the European Parliament. He announced the introduction of sanctions “for those responsible for violence, repression and falsification of electoral results.”
“Those sanctions should be adopted before the European Council on September 24-25 in Brussels if we want to preserve Europe’s credibility,” he said.
JADRANKA JOKSIMOVIC, MINISTER OF THE EU
Greater alignment is expected of us
photo: Zorana Jevtić
The Minister of European Integration, Jadranka Joksimović, when asked if we will join the EU in the announced sanctions, but also what are the consequences if we do not do so, said that this (our) issue is related to Chapter 31 in the negotiations with the EU.
– The draft report was not adopted especially due to the attitudes of some Member States expressing higher expectations of Serbia in terms of harmonization with the CFSP. Of course, not only the percentage of compliance with the resolutions is measured, but also the contribution to multinational military and civil missions, where Serbia ranks highly in terms of contribution. We recently supported the political resolution of the EU Council on the situation in Belarus and renounced participation in joint military exercises, which is a clear indicator of our harmonization with the EU CFSP, and this was assessed in the EU. As for the sanctions regime against Belarus, it is a continuation of the EU’s political measures against that country, but the sanctions regime has not yet been confirmed and adopted in the EU. Otherwise, the sanctions would mean a list of people to whom certain sanction measures would apply, explains Joksimović, adding:
– Certainly, in the future, in accordance with the advanced dynamics of our negotiations, we are expected to harmonize further, but I also hope that the EC working bodies will finally adopt the Selection Report for Chapter 31, in order to establish formally a clear mechanism for monitoring harmonization. and not just the political expectations of individual Member States.
Kurir.rs/ Katarina Blagović Photo: Profimedia, EPA / Nikolai Petrov
