Czech Republic for Serbia’s Bid to Join EU, but against Specific Date to Avoid False Hope

mfa.gov.rs

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky reiterated in a July 15 meeting in Prague with his Serbian counterpart Marko Djuric that the Czech Republic supported Serbia's bid to join the European Union, but warned that the journey may still be a long one and that talk of a specific date created false hope.

"Serbia is ready to continue to develop its legal system, political system, and economic reforms to meet all conditions to become a part of the EU by 2027," Djuric told a joint news conference after the meeting.

Lipavsky repeated that his country supported Serbia's ambition to become a full member of the EU, but that he did not favor setting concrete dates as this would both spark unrealistic expectations in the public and fail to encourage politicians to invest effort.

Lipavsky said that accession talks were valuable in themselves as a complex political process, and that, while there may still be a long journey ahead before Serbia joins the EU, it has made strides in a series of chapters. He went on to say that shared foreign and security policy and bypassing sanctions was another subject that needed to be discussed.

Djuric said that the EU as a whole, and the Czech Republic as an important part of the EU, could count on Serbia as a pillar in preserving regional stability and that Serbia would work on carrying out the regional growth agenda and on improving political relations and the political climate in the region.