Spindelegger supports Serbia's EU integration

Austria's Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger has said he "would like to see Serbia receive the EU candidate status this fall". If it were up to Austria, the answer would be yes, but it requires an agreement of all the 27 members of the EU, he explained, according to the Vienna daily Kurier. Spindelegger supports Serbia's EU integration Spindelegger, who is in favor of having all of the Balkan countries integrated into the EU, wants to calm the situation after the recent visit to the region by Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, even though he too has a clear standpoint on the issue, said the report. "Serbia's progress towards the EU is not separate from Belgrade's relations towards Kosovo," he noted. The EU must follow a clear path and define its expectations towards Belgrade and Pristina, the Austrian official added. "No one is demanding that Serbia recognize Kosovo as an independent state, but the EU does want objectivity and normal relations," he stated. He called on Belgrade and Pristina to return to the negotiating table in Brussels September 2 and renew their dialogue. The two sides have to initiate the key changes themselves, Spindelegger remarked.

Spindelegger supports Serbia's EU integration

Spindelegger, who is in favor of having all of the Balkan countries integrated into the EU, wants to calm the situation after the recent visit to the region by Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, even though he too has a clear standpoint on the issue, said the report.

"Serbia's progress towards the EU is not separate from Belgrade's relations towards Kosovo," he noted. The EU must follow a clear path and define its expectations towards Belgrade and Priština, the Austrian official added.

"No one is demanding that Serbia recognize Kosovo as an independent state, but the EU does want objectivity and normal relations," he stated.

He called on Belgrade and Priština to return to the negotiating table in Brussels September 2 and renew their dialogue.

The two sides have to initiate the key changes themselves, Spindelegger remarked.