Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister said that the overwhelming majority of EP MPs support EU enlargement.

EU needs reform, but there is a wide consensus that candidate countries should join the EU once they meet all conditions, McAllister told a press conference he held following a two-day visit to Belgrade.

McAllister noted that the EU integration process takes time, but that he is looking forward to seeing Serbia in the EU as soon as possible.

The EU cannot and will not import bilateral conflicts, he said, adding that Belgrade and Pristina need to solve all of their issue before they join the EU. By imposing 100% taxes on goods imported from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, he stressed, Kosovo has violated both its obligations and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, Fonet reports.

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The US, the EU and many of the latter’s members have asked Kosovo to revoke the taxes. Pristina should not let the opportunity to tackle the issue with Belgrade slip. Both sides need to come back to the negotiating table in Brussels, McAllister said.

It is in Kosovo’s interest to address this issue fast. The dialogue has just entered a new stage, but there has been no progress for weeks, said McAllister, who will be travelling to Pristina from Belgrade.

McAllister said that the difficulties faced by the National Assembly led certain MPs to snub Parliament’s sessions.

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He said there is room for improvement when it comes to parliamentary procedures. “We can say there are a number of laws and amendments adopted by urgent procedure, while the time for debate remains limited,” McAllister said while visiting Belgrade where he met with representatives of both the government and opposition. On behalf of the EP, he expressed readiness to help change the parliamentary Rulebook, should the National Assembly ask for such assistance.

McAllister said that a parliament is the backbone of a democratic debate and that each and every MP should decide whether they want to serve the people who elected them by engaging in such a discussion.

According to him, the EP is following peaceful protests in Serbia. “We are interested in what’s going on, but we are not taking part in it.”

McAllister noted that the ideal situation would include having pluralistic, free media in Serbia, funded in a transparent manner. Violence against journalists is unacceptable and media are key to modern democracies, he said and added that during the visit he called on government representatives to improve the state of media in the country.

McAllister and the EP delegation have over the course of two days met with government officials and representatives of civil society and opposition.