MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Serbian Minister of Family Welfare and Demography Milica Durdevic-Stamenkovski stated in an interview with TASS that Serbia’s accession to the European Union has lost its relevance due to the deep crisis the union is going through.
"I believe that the current EU policy is going through a deep crisis and is facing serious challenges," the minister said. "The EU needs to seriously rethink its current policy positions and clearly determine its future approach to countries striving for full membership."
"If Brussels continues to adhere to the current course of double standards, protectionism and neglect the national interests, then the further expansion of the European community becomes extremely doubtful, both from the point of view of justification and from the meaning of this process, taking into account the changing geopolitical landscape of the world," said Durdevic-Stamenkovski.
The minister recalled that Serbia began the process of European integration at a time when the idea of EU membership was much more attractive to the public in Serbia and in other potential candidate countries. "The EU’s constant insistence on imposing sanctions and confrontation with Russia, avoidance of rational decisions regarding the conflict in Ukraine, and unwillingness to recognize the serious deficit of democratic legitimacy within its own institutions have seriously undermined the credibility and attractiveness of the European project," she explained.
Durdevic-Stamenkovski also doubted whether "the European Union is really interested in expanding at the moment, at least for the foreseeable future." "It is obvious that there is a restructuring and redistribution of spheres of influence, which will inevitably lead to a revision of existing practices and mechanisms within the EU itself," she said.