Serbia Joining Schengen Are Would Benefit EU, Minister Says

Nemanja Starovic (BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

Serbian Minister for European Integrations Nemanja Starovic has voiced the opinion that Serbia should join the Schengen Area as soon as possible, claiming this would enhance European security. This process, however, should run parallel to the country’s EU integrations, Starovic stressed.

“We are the only part of Europe where migrants and refugees arrive from the Schengen Area, for example Greece or Bulgaria, only to then return to the Schengen Area – to Hungary, Austria and so on,” Starovic said in an interview for Austria Press Agency published on May 22.

Asked about the gradual EU accession plan for Western Balkan countries, which Austria supports, Starovic said: “We can discuss it as long as it is not considered a replacement for, or is applied instead of, full membership, and if it offers certain benefits to [Serbia’s] economy.”

In a May 20 meeting at the chancellor’s office in Vienna, Starovic sat down with Claudia Plakolm, Austria’s federal minister for Europe, integration and family, and took the opportunity to praise the EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans as “very good.”

According to him, the Serbian government is committed to joining the EU since this is in the country’s best national interest and, as such, is one of the Cabinet’s highest priorities, if not the highest. To this end, Serbia wants to open Cluster Three of the accession process (Competitiveness and inclusive growth), which, following the European Commission’s recommendations, the country has been waiting on for three and half years now, said Starovic.

Asked about the European Parliament’s recent report on Serbia – which contained numerous criticisms and pointed out significant deficiencies with regards to the rule of law, media freedom and electoral legislation in the country – Starovic said that three new media laws and a voter roll law are set to be passed in June, and that selection of council members for the Regulatory Authority for Digital Media is in progress, all of which are reforms Serbia would like to see recognized.

As for the massive protests in the country, Starovic reiterated the regime’s claims that all the demands of the protesting university students have been met. While Serbia completely respects the right of political assembly, he went on to say, there have also been traffic blockades that are illegal, yet all the while the police have not applied force but are rather attempting to ensure the protestors’ safety.

The minister also refused to comment on the possible date of Serbia’s EU accession, maintaining that the matter is out of his hands. He did assert that the country’s goal is to complete all reforms by the end of 2026, thereby fully assuming the EU’s legal framework.