The European Parliament has adopted a recommendation to continue accession talks with Serbia only if the country aligns with the European Union sanctions policy against Russia.
“Underlining the importance for the EU of prioritizing the alignment of accession countries with the EU’s common foreign and security policy, MEPs say that accession negotiations with Serbia should advance only if the country supports EU sanctions against Russia and makes significant progress on EU-related reforms,” a press release said after the recommendation was adopted by majority vote.
The Serbian authorities have avoided introducing sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Official Belgrade has had close relations with the Kremlin because Russia has supported its stand on Kosovo.
Over 500 MEPs voted in favour of the imposition of sanctions against Russia and progress on EU-related reforms as conditions for advancing negotiations with Serbia.
The document is not legally binding for European institutions and member states, but gives European Parliament’s recommendations for European Union’s (EU) future enlargement policy.
The European Parliament also adopted a resolution “recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism” and calling for the isolation of that country, a press release said.
(N1, 23.11.2022)
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