Earlier this week President Juncker sent a reply letter to Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, where he expressed his concern over the latest developments in relations between Serbia and Croatia and he encouraged a return to constructive bilateral engagement.
In his reply, the President underlined that good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation, as well as reconciliation, are fundamental principles which must be respected by all candidate countries and potential candidates, as well as by all EU Member States themselves. These principles are a commitment, for the whole region. The EU expects all countries concerned to continue to respect these commitments.
As pointed by President Juncker, the European Commission within its competences has always been strongly committed to ensuring the respect of the victims and the memory of the war crimes committed, in Europe. The EU legislation criminalises hate crimes based on national origin and/or public incitement to violence or hatred (including publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes). Under this legislation, EU Member States are obliged to ensure that these crimes are punishable, while EU aspirant countries are expected to align with this law.
As stressed by President Juncker: the long path towards reconciliation between peoples requires joint, sincere efforts from all sides and at all levels to recognise the acts of injustice of the past without bias and to come to terms with them together, thus preparing the ground for a shared and cooperative future. All open issues must be resolved through constructive bilateral dialogue and mutual respect. It is in the interest of all in the region to return to this spirit and discourse.
