Serbian Ambassador To Russia Calls Prospects Of Kosovo Joining EU Unrealistic

Serbian Ambassador to Russia Calls Prospects of Kosovo Joining EU Unrealistic

Kosovo's accession to the European Union is unrealistic at this point, as the bloc is lacking a common stance on Pristina's independence and is currently preoccupied with internal issues, Serbian Ambassador to Russia Miroslav Lazanski told Sputnik in an interview

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd June, 2020) Kosovo's accession to the European Union is unrealistic at this point, as the bloc is lacking a common stance on Pristina's independence and is currently preoccupied with internal issues, Serbian Ambassador to Russia Miroslav Lazanski told Sputnik in an interview.

The diplomat recalled the EU did not have a unified stance on Kosovo because Spain, Greece, Slovakia, Romania and Cyprus have not recognized its independence from Serbia. Notably, all five states have veto power to block the possible accession of Kosovo to the European Union.

"'Kosovo' has no prospect of joining the EU, at least not at the moment ... The accession of 'Kosovo' to the EU is not just a matter of relations between Pristina and Belgrade, it is primarily a matter of positions of countries that have not recognized 'Kosovo' ... Thus, it is absurd to ask about 'Kosovo' joining the EU at the moment, because if any of the five mentioned countries vetoes [the accession], 'Kosovo' will not join the EU. So it is delusional to argue about that," the ambassador said.

With regard to accession of the other Balkan states, Lazanski opined that the EU "is presently dealing with its own issues" and "is unlikely to be paying much attention to the accession of Western Balkan states." As for Serbia's accession, in articular, the ambassador said that "it is going at a slower pace than the Serbian public expects."

"As noted by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, it seems like the key issue is that Brussels probably expects Serbia to recognize 'Kosovo' before it can enter the EU. This is very problematic," Lazanski said.

According to the diplomat, the pace of integration depends not so much on Serbia itself but on the EU and its readiness to expand, as well as on "availability of an alternative strategy for Western Balkans." Additionally, Lazanski said there was uncertainty among what he called "important members of the EU," which is another reason for why the Western Balkan integration "is not going as smoothly as many expected."

The EU accession process develops in so-called chapters, which are collections of standards that candidate countries must meet in their domestic policies to qualify for membership. It is usually carried out via comprehensive reforms, and once all chapters are closed, the country is eligible to move from the candidate status to full accession.

Serbia got an EU candidate status in 2012 and began the accession talks in 2014. There are 35 chapters on Serbia's dossier in accession talks, of which two have already been closed and 18 others are currently open.

Kosovo currently qualifies as a "potential candidate," and has not started accession talks yet. The EU has made it clear that its membership, much as Serbia's, will remain closely linked to them succeeding in normalizing the relations.