Russia is deliberately pursuing in Serbia the strategy of tension, the head of the European Parliament Committee on foreign policy David McAllister. In his opinion, the EU should counteract this.
Moscow is increasing its influence in Serbia, a country-candidate for accession to the EU, says German politician, Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on foreign policy David McAllister (David McAllister). “Russia is deliberately pursuing in Serbia the strategy of tension. It is an occasion for serious anxiety”, — he said in an interview with Die Welt newspaper published on Monday, March 20.
According to McAllister, representing the party of the Christian democratic Union (CDU), “Moscow is trying to exert a massive influence on the media, some politicians, and civil society in Serbia”. Despite the fact that the EU is the largest investor in Serbia intends to invest about 1.5 billion euros of financial assistance in the period up to 2020 in the development of reforms and the Serbian economy, “at the same time, Russia is perceived by Serbian society as the most important ally”, stressed the MEP.
“The Balkans is a region with high risk of explosion, where as a result of the irresponsible actions promptly can re-animating the conflicts that have long been considered overcome,” said McAllister.
In his opinion, Brussels should “with Serbian politicians and civil society to do its good work even more intuitive”. The open question is how widely Belgrade can negotiate with Moscow. In may 2014, Serbia has signed with Russia an agreement on “strategic partnership”, including on the exchange of intelligence information and joint military exercises. An official candidate for EU membership Serbia is 2012.
