Brnabic: Russia sanctions main condition for continuation of EU integration

LEBANE - There has been no acceleration of Serbia's progress on the EU path because imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation is "a condition above all conditions" for a continuation of EU integration, Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said on Friday.

"We have already made major steps and major progress, as also indicated by two progress reports by the European Commission. To all EU member states, both reports recommend opening Cluster 3 in the talks with Serbia, which has still not happened. We have done that part and we are waiting for the EU," Brnabic told reporters in Lebane, southern Serbia, where her government held a session to mark its 100 days in office.

She noted that Serbia had made major additional progress by passing a set of judicial laws.

"We have heard praise, but we will see whether we will see some concrete results except verbal praise. Honestly, I do not believe that will happen. I think imposing sanctions on Russia is now the condition above all conditions, and they will not open neither chapters nor clusters for us (in the EU accession talks) without that," Brnabic said.

The PM said she hoped she was wrong because sanctions on Russia would represent a new condition.

Until now, rule of law and the dialogue with Pristina have been the most significant conditions for our European integration, she said.

But it now seems that is not enough and that alignment with the EU common foreign and security policy, including imposing sanctions on Russia, is the condition above all conditions, Brnabic said, adding that the same could also be the case with the adoption of a French-German proposal for resolving the Kosovo-Metohija issue.