Chair of the European Affairs Committee in the French parliament Daniela Oroa has said that at the end of its European path, Serbia will have to recognise Kosovo or it will not be able to count on membership of the European Union, Belgrade's Vecernje Novosti reported on Monday.
In an interview with the daily, Oroa stressed that as a traditional friend, France was trying to assist Serbia in the process of European integration, however, mutual recognition between Belgrade and Pristina was a sine qua non condition as far as Paris was concerned.
Asked if Brussels officially supported a neutral position, Oroa briefly explained: "All I can say is that we strongly support Serbia's accession to the EU but as far as us French are concerned, if there is no mutual recognition, the answer will be no."
She compared this to the Alsace and Lorraine provinces and pointed out that the most important thing in the end for both these provinces in the border regions between Germany and France was that their inhabitants had their say.
"I believe that the people of Kosovo too have expressed their opinion. That (recognition of Kosovo), so to speak, is not a written condition but neither Serbia nor Kosovo will enter the EU until they have made their peace and both countries recognise each other, and it seems to me that Serbia is taking steps in this regard," she said.
Oroa repeated that this was not a written but a spoken condition.
"I don't see how the EU would agree to accept a country that has not recognised another country" she said for the Vecernji Novosti daily.
