Opposition Official: We Are Quarter of a Century Behind in Joining EU

Zdravko Ponos/BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV

Zdravko Ponos, president of the Serbia Center party and one of the lead candidates on the European Serbia electoral ticket, said on Oct. 7 that Serbia's accession to the European Union is not a matter of foreign policy, but one of establishing normalcy in Serbia and a better life.

"A vote for European Serbia is a sure vote for that very Serbia, which is the summary word for all that is a better life. It is the story of rebuilt institutions and rule of law. Of food the same quality as in Germany, of being able to travel with an EU passport and get an education and work where you like, and not, like now, being a second-class citizen as soon as you step over our border, being treated like you're from Ethiopia," Ponos told KTV.

He pointed out that Aleksandar Vucic, until recently president of Serbia, "has for the first time come out and said that Serbia will not join the EU." "We have the [New Democratic Party of Serbia] saying, 'And it shouldn't.' We have the student ticket saying they will get to it later, they will consider it. And we say we have no time for deliberation and consideration. We are 25 years behind, and what those not running in the election are saying is completely irrelevant," the party quoted Ponos as saying.

He said he is optimistic about possible cooperation with the university student protest movement ticket post-election.