Serbia will not have to give up Kosovo for the sake of joining the EU?

Serbia will not have to give up Kosovo for the sake of joining the EU?

He expressed confidence that Belgrade would not have to give up Kosovo for membership in the Union, and that no candidate country was asked to do anything similar.

"Do you know of a case of a candidate country that had to do something similar to become an EU member?" Selakovic asked.

The Minister also asked how this could be a precondition for EU accession, in a situation when not all members have the same position regarding Kosovo.

"Kosovo is not only a southern province according to the Constitution of Serbia, but also on the basis of UN Resolution 1244. Serbia joined the UN with its borders, which include Kosovo and Metohija, and we are a member of the UN," he underlined.

At the same time, he points out that Belgrade is still ready for a compromise solution with Pristina, which must be sustainable, applicable and acceptable to both sides.

“That doesn’t mean one side gets everything and the other nothing,” he pointed out. According to the APA, Selaković did not want to talk about what a compromise might look like, and when it came to changing the borders, he said that no one was talking about it.

"There is no solution of that kind on the table," he stressed. Asked if Belgrade could come to terms with the fact that Kosovo Albanians do not want to live in Serbia, he answered with the question: "Is it reasonable to force a million Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina to live in Bosnia-Herzegovina?"

Precisely because these are principles, according to him, Serbia fully supports the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"We know that our attitude towards Bosnia-Herzegovina preserves our position regarding Kosovo. I have not met anyone who could explain to me why the principle of self-determination should apply only to Albanians in Kosovo, but not to Serbs in Republika Srpska," he pointed out.

Selakovic added that on the issue of Kosovo, the international community thought that changing the border was a good solution.

"I think that is not a good solution. If the border changes once, then it will always happen. It is not good for the region, nor for us," the head of Serbian diplomacy said.

Selakovic criticized Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, pointing out that Pristina does not want to implement the Brussels Agreement, that is, the obligation to form the CSMs.

"If there is an agreement, then it must be fulfilled, regardless of whether someone likes it or not," he said. Belgrade, he says, has fulfilled all its obligations and is now waiting for the EU and Kosovo Albanians to do so.

Selakovic expressed concern over Kurti's sympathies regarding the unification of Kosovo and Albania, adding that he was not worried about his statements, but about "silence in European capitals". He advises the future high representative of the international community in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, to be impartial.

"If a solution is wanted for Bosnia-Herzegovina, we must not interfere and stand on one side," he said.

Bosnian Serbs, he says, have good reasons for being skeptical of the international community's high representative.

He said that the former High Representative used his powers to limit the competencies of RS.

"The Dayton Peace Agreement is one of the most successful peace projects not only in Europe, but in the world, and it should be preserved," Selakovic stressed, adding that changes to the agreement are possible only with the consent of all three peoples and two Bosnia-Herzegovina's entities.

On the issue of Serbia's European path to the EU, he criticized the accession process to the Union and the hypocrisy of certain countries in their treatment of Serbia.

"How can it be that EU member states are ready to accept EU citizens, but not Serbia as a member?", he asked.

Selaković pointed out that the goals in the EU accession process are constantly changing.

Although Serbia, as the first candidate from the region, accepted the new methodology, it did not receive an accession date, which, he says, is a huge difference compared to the previous round of EU enlargement, in which the conditions and dates were clear from the beginning.

He emphasized that pointing to economic data, Serbia is well prepared for EU membership.

Selakovic pointed out that this year, Serbia's economic growth will be higher than six percent, that the country meets the Maastricht criteria regarding public debt, and that the unemployment rate has dropped from 26.9 percent to nine percent in the past few years.

According to him, many young Serbs are now returning to their homeland to work in international companies.

He also pointed out that Serbia attracts most of the region's foreign direct investments.

Selaković emphasizes that Serbia's membership in the EU should not be important only for our country.

"We see that the EU could feel sorry if Serbia does not become an EU member," he underlined, adding that, after all, the EU does not want a "vacuum" in the region.

Selakovic also believes that it is important for the EU to get "fresh blood". Regarding the issue of the fight against illegal migration, he said that it was paradoxical that Serbia was facing waves of migrants from the territory of the EU.

He pointed out that many countries are interested in partnership with Serbia when it comes to migration.

"Somehow it has become normal to want Serbia as a partner when it comes to problematic issues, but we do not want Serbia as a partner or member regarding good issues," he said.

Speaking about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Selakovic thanked for the support. "It doesn't matter if we all share his position, he is a great leader and a brave man, and the only problem I see with him is that he is someone who always says what he thinks. Unfortunately, that is no longer common in today's world," Selakovic said.

He recalled that Europe is based on freedom of expression and that it will survive as long as it accepts differences on the issue of different attitudes.

He says that he would personally prefer if Europe supported its identity and culture more strongly, instead of constantly talking only about the market, trade and money.