Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-24-Speech-3-309"
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"en.20071024.39.3-309"2
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"Mr President, all in this House would agree that Serbia has a European future and that this European future is highly desirable, both for Serbia and for Europe. The question then is how to get there from here.
The heart of the problem is that, whilst Serbia certainly has some of the characteristics of a democracy, it is still some way from having a stable, democratic infrastructure. The legacy of communism and of the wars following the disintegration of Yugoslavia has left deep marks on Serbian society, hence the operation of trustworthy, neutral institutions is that much more difficult to sustain. The weakness of the rule of law, the corruption and nepotism, and the worryingly high level of casual violence are all indicators of a society that has to undergo a significant shift before democracy can be regarded as complying with the Copenhagen criteria.
Perhaps the most toxic part of the legacy is the way in which nationalism retains its attractiveness for a politically important part of society, a part of the elite included. For the protagonists of Serbian ethnic nationalism, Serbian citizenship is understood as coextensive with the Serbian nation. This bears very hard on the non-Serb part of Serbian society. In this area, the country’s political elite has a great deal of work to do. Only Serbia – the country’s political elites and Serbian society – can make the necessary shift towards democracy, human rights and citizenship.
The conclusions of this thoughtful report, on the other hand, offer cogent indications as to how that transformation can be made and how Serbia can once again take its place in Europe."@en1
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