Opposition leader expresses support for Serbia’s EU bid
The leader of Greece's main opposition party on Tuesday expressed his support for Serbia's bid to become a fully fledged member of the European Union.
The path to membership, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, “is long and hard, and requires the country to implement a series of bold reforms.”
Serbia's success in achieving full membership status would be “to the benefit of the EU but also to stability in the Balkans,” the conservative leader added.
Mitsotakis also stressed the traditionally strong bond between the two nations, noting that “Greece was a pioneer and an important investor in Serbia at a time when other countries were hesitant about investing."
“The past 10 years have been tough for my country but I believe that we are putting the crisis behind us and, if the Greeks put their trust in New Democracy in the elections, the economy can recover, which will be important in strengthening our bilateral relationship,” Mitsotakis said.
The ND leader also encouraged Vucic to normalize relations with Kosovo, one of the key conditions for both sides to realize their EU ambitions.
“We encourage dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, which needs to proceed without unilateral actions that increase tensions,” he said.
