Ambassador: London-Belgrade Relations Good, Serbia’s Judicial Amendments a Step Backward

Ambassador Ferguson (BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

British Ambassador to Serbia Edward Ferguson said on Feb. 8 that relations between his country and Serbia were good and had vast potential for development, but also that Serbia had taken a step backward in its European Union integration process with the recent adoption of judicial amendments.

Ferguson told the Politika daily in an interview that his country wanted positive, modern and future-oriented relations with Serbia. He added that it was his impression that both sides were prone to viewing the other through the prism of the 1990s, going on to say that he would like to see both move past this habit and turn to the future.

Ferguson stressed that the United Kingdom strongly supported Serbia's strategic commitment to join the EU, even though the UK left the 27-nation bloc "for its own reasons," noting that the UK's history, geography and economy were different.

To get there, Serbia must carry out the reforms expected of every EU candidate member -- strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law, ensuring freedom of the press, protection of journalists and so on, Ferguson said. We have supported these reforms for years, so we share the disappointment of our friends from the EU when we see Serbia take steps backward, which I believe happened with the judicial amendments last week, he went on to say.