Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia
 
01.03.2012.

Minister Sutanovac's statement on EU candidacy



The Heads of State or Government of Member States of the European Union this evening confirmed the recommendation of the EU Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which means that Serbia has formally and legally been given the status of candidate country for EU membership. The period between these two decisions was again very challenging for Serbia, because it showed that the position of the European Union depended on the attitude of each of its members, and thus to each member of protecting its national interests.

This is an important lesson for all those who think that our joining the EU leads to a loss of national sovereignty - on the contrary, EU membership is a guarantee of the sovereignty of each Member State. On the other hand, it is also a lesson to us all that we must pay attention not only to meeting EU standards, but also to view this as the European Commission’s positive opinion of the progress of reforms in Serbia, which nobody has questioned even for a moment. It is rather more important to be cooperative and constructive in dealing with all the others, especially political issues.

The statements made by European officials, representatives from both EU and all Member States, which provide support to Serbia and do not doubt its European orientation, are the first concrete evidence of our appreciation of the new status of the candidate. However, the same level of understanding of this process, the same energy and enthusiasm is needed in Serbia too, so European integrations, mainly because of internal reforms, could be successfully continued.
 
MOD
Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia, Bircaninova 5 street, Belgrade
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