"EU must not repeat Ukraine mistake with Serbia"

Normalization of Russia- EU relations with Serbia's help "is the main reason why Brussels should work hard to make Serbia an EU member," says Franco Frattini.

Izvor: Tanjug

Wednesday, 22.07.2015.

17:10

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Franco Frattini (Tanjug, file)

"EU must not repeat Ukraine mistake with Serbia"

"Two factors make Serbian membership essential for the EU. First, we're talking about the biggest and most prosperous country in the Balkan region. This is the factor of regional security and stability, which Europe can't ignore," Frattini said.

However, he "stressed the importance of not pushing Serbia too much, demanding it not to accept EU accession requirements too fast."

"Also, under no circumstances should Brussels push Serbia to choose between the EU and Russia, considering Belgrade's warm relationship with Moscow. If Serbia is pushed too much or made to choose between its future EU membership and keeping warm relations with Russia, it could bring the country on the brink of a catastrophe, as it happened in Ukraine," Frattini argued.

According to this former European Commission official, "the EU messed up big time when it forced Kiev to choose between the EU and Russia."

"If Brussels didn't push Kiev to break its historical relationship with Russia, but instead worked to bring Ukraine closer to Europe while at the same letting Kiev to have a special relationship with Moscow, the country wouldn't be on the verge of collapse right now. We'll try not to make this mistake again with Serbia," Frattini said, as cited by Euronews.

According to Sputnik, with his comments, Frattini agreed with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, who said that "Serbia can play a key role in developing better relations between Russia and the European Union."

"The Balkan country has strong historical ties with Russia and therefore it could act as the 'connecting bridge' between Moscow and Brussels. Serbia could become an example, where the ideas and moral values of both Russia and the EU could coexist and even thrive. That's why it's important for Brussels to work towards granting Serbia EU membership," Schulz told Euronews.

"Having just returned from his visit to the Balkan country, Schulz said that the EU and Serbia will start the accession process this year," the report added.

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