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The Dutch Foreign Minister, Caspar Veldkamp, has said that the Netherlands will block Serbia’s progression toward European Union accession.
The Minister cited concerns related to Serbia’s readiness for the next stage in the membership to the bloc, stressing that Serbia has not made enough progress in the area of rule of law, Schengen.News reports.
Serbia still does not recognise the independence of its neighbouring country, the Republic of Kosovo, which was declared on February 17, 2008. Kosovo also applied for EU membership.
“We Need to Put Real Pressure on Serbia Now”
Ahead of the consultations related to the EU candidate countries’ progress towards EU accession, the Dutch Foreign Minister, Caspar Veldkamp, said that real pressure on Serbia is needed.
In addition, he urged other European governments to join the Netherlands’ position on the matter so the country does not have to be alone in this.
However, the Minister said that he does not have a problem with being the only country to stand in opposition, as quoted by the NL Times.
According to a report from the NL Times, many political parties in the Netherlands oppose moving forward with Serbia’s EU accession at this time.
In addition, a Member of the Dutch Parliament, Kati Piri, proposed a motion stressing that the EU accession process must be based on results achieved, considering the rule of law an important part of this. Piri said that Serbia made insufficient progress in this regard.
Serbia started its journey towards EU accession in 2009. In the same year, Beograd officially applied for EU membership and was granted EU candidate status in March 2012.
The accession negotiations between the EU and Serbia began in January 2014. Up to this point, 22 chapters have been opened.
However, in November this year, the Defence Minister of Hungary, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, said that Serbia must join the European Union “after many years of waiting”.
Source: https://schengen.news/netherlands-to-prevent-serbias-next-eu-membership-step/
