A whole group of negotiating chapters will not be opened because Belgrade refuses to join EU sanctions against Moscow
A group of negotiating chapters called Cluster 3 will not open for Serbia in Brussels in June because the country has not imposed sanctions on Russia, Serbian European Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimovic was quoted as saying by BGNES.
Cluster 3, which Serbia expects on its path to European integration, includes, inter alia, the information society and media, the tax system, economic and monetary policy.
Joksimovic told RTS that the cluster would not be opened, although it was ready, citing “non-compliance with the regime of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation” as the reason for not opening a new cluster.
Despite several UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion and Western pressure, Serbia has resisted imposing sanctions on Moscow.
“There are many challenges ahead of us – the energy, food and all kinds of other crises that we need to resolve, and it is important that Serbia is firmly on the European path,” Jokimovic said.
She called the war in Ukraine “Europe’s biggest challenge” since the fall of the Berlin Wall, because it is a conflict in which one country is a nuclear power.
Asked what the room for maneuver was when it came to sanctions, Joksimovic said it was not a field for maneuver and that Serbia had shown full commitment. She added that Serbia shares the same values of respect for international peace and order and the inviolability of territorial integrity.
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