Prime Minister: Whether EU Should Make a Political Decision on Enlargement Is an Increasingly Frequent Question in Europe

Ana Brnabic (BETAPHOTO/VLADA SRBIJE/SLOBODAN MILJEVIC)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said in Florence on May 6 that whether the European Union (EU) should react to the war in Ukraine with a political decision to step up the enlargement process or stick to its tough entry criteria was an increasingly frequent question in the Union.

After attending a panel debate on the Western Balkans' European perspective as part of a State of the Union 2022 conference in Florence, Brnabic met with High Representative of the Union Josep Borrell to discuss the situation in Ukraine, EU enlargement and Belgrade-Pristina talks.

“The increasingly frequent question now is whether the EU should make a political decision to allow Serbia and Montenegro, which have come rather far (in negotiations with the Union), to join as soon as possible, or continue the current process with the full range of reforms, divided into clusters, which is fairly bureaucratic” Brnabic said to Serbian reporters.

The prime minister also said that “I do not have very good news” about the dialogue with Pristina. “Regional stability, better ties, cooperation and peace are most important in this difficult moment, as they can create room for growth and development,” said Brnabic.