MEPs criticise signing of Consultation Plan between Serbia and Russia

European Parliament members, including Vladimir Bilcik, the EP rapporteur for Serbia, condemned the signing of the Consultation Plan by the foreign affairs ministries of Russia and Serbia for the next two years.

“As a keen supporter of any steps towards a European Serbia, I find the news of planned consultations between Serbia & Russia a major blow to accession process in the Western Balkans. Let’s be clear: Russia is mobilizing to attack EU candidate state Ukraine, Russia is attacking EU enlargement!” Bilcik wrote on Twitter.
EP rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, also reacted to the news about the agreement, saying ti represents a “serious scandal”.

“This is a serious scandal. In the midst of raging war, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Serbia signs the plan on future collaboration with the Russian aggressor. Or maybe it’s just a signal for us to freeze the EU accession talks as entering the EU does not go through Moscow”, she posted on Twitter.
Russia’s and Serbia’s foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Nikola Selakovic, signed on Friday in New York the Plan of Consultations of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries for the next two years.

Selakovic said on Sunday that this plan is being attacked by "those who have not even seen it", and that it does not contain security policy issues, but refers to consultations at the UN regarding Kosovo, bilateral relations and multilateral activities.