“Germany was wrong to deny Serbia candidate status”

Austria's Defense Minister Norbert Darabos has said it was a mistake that Serbia did not get the EU candidate status in December.

Izvor: Tanjug

Saturday, 31.12.2011.

15:42

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Austria's Defense Minister Norbert Darabos has said it was a mistake that Serbia did not get the EU candidate status in December. He added that Germany was interpreting the situation poorly. “Germany was wrong to deny Serbia candidate status” Darabos told the Vienna-based daily Der Standard daily he was not satisfied with the EU stand on Serbia because of political and security reasons, since the issue of Serbia's candidate status went beyond just Serbia and also concerned Austrian troops in Kosovo. The Austrian minister warned the EU not to shut its door, because that would strengthen those forces in Serbia that were not headed towards Europe and jeopardize the region's stability. “It would be a fatal signal for the entire Western Balkans,” he stressed. Darabos noted that he saw honest efforts by the Serbian government to settle the northern Kosovo issue in a way that would lead to Serbia's recognition of Kosovo's independence. “The Serbian government has made clear its stand regarding the Serbs in northern Kosovo, he said. They should not suffer because the Kosovo Serbs have not met the requirements,” stressed the Austrian official, who is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria. “The solution was prevented by Kosovo Serbs, who, except for one mayor, do not follow the good-willed advice coming from the government in Belgrade,” he explained. According to the Austrian official, the peace process in the Western Balkans will be in danger if the nationalist forces win the spring election, because that would signal the Serbs in northern Kosovo that they can do whatever they like. “The majority of the people in Serbia want to join the EU and find that issue more important than Kosovo, he stated, adding that it would be a fatal signal if Serbia were not granted EU candidate status and Germany held its position. Serbia has completed its security and political tasks and must now be treated similar to Croatia,” Darabos concluded. Tanjug

“Germany was wrong to deny Serbia candidate status”

Darabos told the Vienna-based daily Der Standard daily he was not satisfied with the EU stand on Serbia because of political and security reasons, since the issue of Serbia's candidate status went beyond just Serbia and also concerned Austrian troops in Kosovo.

The Austrian minister warned the EU not to shut its door, because that would strengthen those forces in Serbia that were not headed towards Europe and jeopardize the region's stability.

“It would be a fatal signal for the entire Western Balkans,” he stressed.

Darabos noted that he saw honest efforts by the Serbian government to settle the northern Kosovo issue in a way that would lead to Serbia's recognition of Kosovo's independence.

“The Serbian government has made clear its stand regarding the Serbs in northern Kosovo, he said. They should not suffer because the Kosovo Serbs have not met the requirements,” stressed the Austrian official, who is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria.

“The solution was prevented by Kosovo Serbs, who, except for one mayor, do not follow the good-willed advice coming from the government in Belgrade,” he explained.

According to the Austrian official, the peace process in the Western Balkans will be in danger if the nationalist forces win the spring election, because that would signal the Serbs in northern Kosovo that they can do whatever they like.

“The majority of the people in Serbia want to join the EU and find that issue more important than Kosovo, he stated, adding that it would be a fatal signal if Serbia were not granted EU candidate status and Germany held its position. Serbia has completed its security and political tasks and must now be treated similar to Croatia,” Darabos concluded.

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