Brnabic: Ukraine’s informal initiative on cooperation among EU candidates excludes invitation for Pristina

Serbian National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic, who is participating in Copenhagen at the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the European Union and candidate countries, stated that Ukraine has launched, for now, a completely informal initiative under which EU membership candidates would cooperate more closely and effectively in order to coordinate activities and thereby support one another on the European path. She recalled that Ukraine has not recognized Kosovo and that Pristina would not take part in such an initiative.

Brnabic said that it was proposed to hold a meeting of candidate countries later today in the afternoon or tomorrow morning before the closing of the conference.

What makes this initiative noteworthy is that Pristina would not participate in it, as reported by Tanjug.

“Ukraine has not recognized the so-called state of Kosovo; rather, Ukraine recognizes the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, and representatives from Pristina would not be invited to such a meeting,” Brnabic said, as reported by Radio Television of Vojvodina.

She stressed that it is positive that this signal will once again demonstrate to the majority of EU member states that respect for the territorial integrity of internationally recognized states is a fundamental principle of international law that must not be violated.

According to her, this principle of international law cannot be selectively applied, regardless of claims that “in Serbia’s case it can be violated, but in Ukraine’s case it cannot.”

“I would like to express great gratitude to our partners from Ukraine for their principled stance. I will gladly attend that meeting,” Brnabic said.

The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament also emphasized that it is of utmost importance for Serbian representatives to attend European gatherings in light of one of the country’s strategic goals—EU accession.

“We believe it is extremely important for Serbia to be present at all European forums. After all, European integration is a strategic priority of our country,” Brnabic told the media in Copenhagen.

She noted that it was particularly important to hear the discussions during the first session, which was largely devoted to the enlargement agenda.

Brnabic added that she has held and will continue to hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the conference in order to discuss Serbia’s European path with European partners.

“I will strive to have as many meetings as possible, both formal and informal, to once again speak about everything that is happening in Serbia, what we have achieved on our reform path, and to seek support for opening additional clusters, which I believe Serbia more than deserves,” Brnabic said.

Asked whether EU member states are aware that the Union remains an unfinished project without the Western Balkans—an assessment made earlier at the conference by Niko Peleshi—Brnabic replied that she believes most are aware, but that there are still member states that remain generally skeptical about enlargement and the admission of any new members into the European Union.

“We also heard today from certain speakers that they believe, under the current geopolitical circumstances, enlargement could pose a risk to the European Union rather than strengthen it. It is therefore interesting to hear such messages as well,” the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament added.