Insistence of Brussels on Ukraine’s territorial integrity while expecting Serbia to violate its own

The EU is making “contradictory” demands on Serbia when it comes to values and principles, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Friday.

While Belgrade is committed to joining the bloc, it’s difficult to square the insistence of Brussels on Ukraine’s territorial integrity while expecting Serbia to violate its own.

Brnabic spoke with reporters in Belgrade following her meeting with Emanuele Giaufret, the head of the EU mission in Serbia. At one point, she was asked to address the “recommendations” recently adopted by the European Parliament.

“One recommendation says Serbia can become an EU member only if it agrees to sanction Russia, because Russia violated the territorial integrity of an internationally recognized state,” Brnabic said. 

“But the other recommendation is that we can continue on our European path only after giving up our own territorial integrity,” that is, by recognizing the independence Kosovo’s provisional government declared in 2008.

If territorial integrity is inviolable, why is Serbia being asked to violate its own, Brnabic asked.