EU criticizes Serbia's decision to send troops to Moscow victory parade

A senior European Union official on Thursday criticized the upcoming participation of the Serbian Armed Forces at a parade in Moscow, saying the move differed from the foreign policy of EU countries.

Johannes Hahn, commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, made the remarks at his meeting with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.

Hahn said that it will not be easy to explain why Serbia is joining Russian troops at the parade scheduled for May 9, in view of the upcoming discussions among EU members on when to open initial negotiation chapters with Serbia.

"When you hold discussions with 28 members, each one has its own view over the situation and has its own interests. Some are interested in the rule of law, others for the implementation of human rights, while some are interested in media freedoms. It is not easy to harmonize all this," Hahn said, according to the press office of the Serbian president.

The decision for the engagement of Serbian units at the parade in Moscow was made on April 6 by Nikolic, who is constitutionally the supreme commander of the army.

Hahn reminded Nikolic that Serbia was in the process of harmonization of foreign policy with EU and added that one also needs to have in mind the opinion of the majority of citizens of a candidate country over some foreign political issues.

Hahn said that the discussions among member countries about the opening of Chapters 23 (Judiciary and fundamental rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, freedom and security) will start as soon as Serbia gives its action plan to the EU Commissariat.

Nikolic told Hahn that Serbia did well in implementing reforms and that he expects chapters to be opened by the end of the year, and asked that EU supports government in reforms.

"Serbia shows that becoming EU member is its absolute priority," Nikolic was quoted as saying. Endit