FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The European Union said that there will be consequences for Serbia due to non-adherence to the bloc's foreign policy positions, which, according to the bloc, is an integral part of European integration.
This reaction of the main spokesman of the European Commission, Eric Mamer, after Serbia did not support the statement of the 27 EU states regarding the death of the Russian opposition politician, Alexei Navalny. Through this statement, the EU blamed the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for the death of the Kremlin critic.
Mamer said that Serbia, a candidate state for EU membership, will have consequences for not adapting to the foreign policy and security positions.
"Adjustment is part of the membership process. There are clearly consequences in case of non-adherence to EU positions as this is a basic requirement that a country must adapt to these positions to become a member of the EU. "Serbia has expressed that membership in the EU is its strategic goal," he said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the EU for foreign policy and security, Peter Stano, repeated the call for all states to adapt to its policies and prove their commitment to European values.
"The European Union wants to count on all candidate countries as reliable European partners for common principles, values, security and prosperity. "The statement about Navalny was precisely about values and principles, as it was about a sudden death of a political prisoner, as a result of the actions of the authorities against him," said Stano.
"The EU and the member states have reiterated in December in the conclusions of the General Affairs Council meeting their strong expectations that Serbia will step up its efforts to fully adapt to the EU's common positions in the field of politics foreign and security affairs and restrictive measures, including those against Russia and Belarus", he added.
The EU's stance on non-alignment with the statement on Navalny was made public as Moscow held a funeral for the Kremlin critic, who died at the age of 47 in an Arctic prison, where he was serving a long sentence on charges of extremism.
After the publication of the news that Serbia has not supported the EU declaration, the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, said a day earlier that he was not aware of such a fact and would be surprised if the opposite happened. He said that he does not see the non-support of this statement as a "big tragedy".
In the past, Serbia has also faced persistent calls to uphold the bloc's sanctions against Russia, after Moscow launched its unprovoked suspension of Ukraine in February 2022. /REL
Lini një Përgjigje