Nlo serbia5/17/2023 ![]() Namely, back in 2008, Serbia signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and agreed to work through political dialogue with the EU on “increasing convergence of positions of the parties on international issues, including the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy issues” (CFSP). Given that there is now a significant escalation of war and raising stakes, Serbia’s attempts to balance the two sides will almost certainly be questioned by its European partners.Īlthough a negotiating country has no formal obligation to fully align its foreign policy with that of the Union until it becomes a member, while being free to sign agreements with third countries and organisations until accession, it still has certain obligations in this area. At the same time, the EU remains Serbia’s largest trade partner and the biggest donor, all while being a community whose values Serbia is attached to and in whose membership, at least declaratively, it sees itself in. Furthermore, the fact that Serbia previously established a Strategic Partnership with Russia, participated in military exercises (together with Belarus) and bought weapons from Russia, and signed a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union only further entrenched the EU’s belief that the process of development of political and economic ties between Serbia and Russia has no end. This, in addition to non-compliance with the EU declarations against China, contributed to the fact that Serbia’s overall degree of alignment was only 61% as of August 2021, which is far below the average of other countries in the accession process, except Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, the President of Serbia stated that it is not in Serbia’s interest to impose sanctions on any country.Įven though Serbia has always formally supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including when the annexation of Crimea took place in 2014, it has never shown readiness to comply with EU declarations against Russia – a country which Serbia considers one of the key pillars of its foreign policy. Finally, on Friday night, at a press conference, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced the conclusions of the National Security Council that Serbia’s decision is not to sanction Russia, although it fully supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and all other countries, and expresses regret for the occurrence of war. A member of the European Parliament, Viola von Cramon, posted that “non-alignment with the whole of Europe on this will put Serbia in self-isolation” and that time of sitting on two chairs is over. In their eyes, Serbia has the status of a country close to Russia despite simultaneously negotiating EU membership. With the emergence of the crisis, the attention of world powers, especially the EU, was directed to the Western Balkans, particularly Serbia. ![]() Footage of the bombardment and endless convoys of cars and people desperately trying to escape from Kyiv and the rest of Ukraine have been headline news in the world’s media. On the same day, the EU Council adopted another set of sanctions. ![]() The war officially started in Ukraine on Thursday morning. On Wednesday morning, both the G7 and the EU also adopted a set of sanctions against Russia. The United States and Japan announced sanctions on Russia on the same day. ![]() As early as Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz halted the approval process of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. After Putin recognised the independence of the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk on Monday night, the leaders of the EU demonstrated a united position: in almost identical words, the leaders of member states, as well as European institutions, strongly condemned Russia’s behaviour. In the last few weeks and days, the escalation of the situation in eastern Ukraine, and now throughout the country, has brought the whole world in anticipation of the next move of all parties involved in this conflict. ![]()
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