European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele has said in a newspaper interview that Serbia's integration into the EU and the Kosovo status issue are separate processes and that the EU's opinion on this matter has remained unchanged.
We will not be linking those two issues. Bilateral issues must be solved in parallel with European integration before entry into the European Union. Any country intending to join the EU should show that it has good relations with its neighbours based on cooperation, tolerance and mutual understanding, Fuele said in an interview with the Belgrade-based Politika newspaper on Friday.
Asked how he understood recent statements by Serbian officials that in choosing between EU membership and the defence of Kosovo they were ready to opt for the latter, Fuele said he did not believe any of the Serbian officials insisted on making such a choice.
The commissioner said that the EU was offering the entire Western Balkans region a future in the EU, but that it expected all the actors to solve their outstanding issues in the European spirit.
Speaking of the mood in the EU regarding further enlargement, Fuele said that once candidate countries have met all the membership criteria and are ready for accession, the member states will be called upon to decide on it unanimously.
