Bilcik: EU Expects Candidate Countries to Introduce Sanctions against Belarus

Vladimir Bilcik (Photo: YouTube)

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia Vladimir Bilcik stated in the evening on May 26 that the European Union expects of its candidate states, and among them Serbia, to align their foreign policies with Brussels’ when it comes to Belarus.

“We expect that the candidates for EU membership and potential candidates adjust their stands so that their political decisions may reflect the most recent developments,” Bilcik told Radio Free Europe (RFE).

Earlier, the opposition Freedom and Justice Party asked Bilcik why he supports the Serbian government which has been maintaining a close relationship with Belarus, when he had so strongly condemned the arrest of Belarus opposition activist Roman Protasevic and called that country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, a dictator.

Bilcik replied that the hijack of a European airplane under Lukashenko’s false pretenses is “far beyond acceptable” and that it represents an “act of state terrorism.”  He added that the EU reacted quickly, taking a unison political stance against such, as he put it, unprecedented act of Belarus, which will result in new, more severe EU measures and sanctions against the regime in Minsk.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has told the RFE that it is “still pointless” to discuss whether or not Belgrade will join in on the sanctions against Belarus. Serbia will decide what to do, Branbic added, only when it receives an official request.