On Monday, Nathalie Loiseau, French Minister for European Affairs said ahead of her visit to Belgrade that the current situation in the EU did not allow enlargement under the satisfactory conditions.
The European Movement in Serbia Secretary-general Suzana Grubjesic told N1 on Wednesday that the European Union showed fatigue with the enlargement but added Serbia should continue with the reforms.
Grubjesic added that the normalisation of relations with Pristina would enable the focus on the internal reforms.
She said the EU should reform itself first to be able to take in new member states, but the statements saying the bloc was not ready for enlargement were not encouraging.
The “pause in enlargement” attitude is notable in all EU countries, Grubjesic said. “Sounds like the EU is afraid of its citizens’ reaction to the enlargement being an issue in the campaign,” for the forthcoming EU elections.
Concerning Serbia’s status in Euro-integration, she said “it is known what the main obstacles are, while the normalisation of the relations between Belgrade and Pristina is the condition without which it is not possible to join the EU.”
“And that is the reason why we open two (negotiating) chapters at the time,” Grubjesic added.
She said there were some indications the EU-facilitated Belgrade – Pristina dialogue could resume in March.
Asked how it was possible for Pristina to ignore pressure to suspend the 100 percent import tariffs on goods from Serbia and Bosnia introduced last November, Grubjesic said that “essentially, the pressure wasn’t that strong.”
“If it wanted, the EU could have suspended the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Pristina,” she said, adding the bloc’s aim was to force both sides to reach a compromise.
“And both sides will have to give up something,” Grubjesic said.
