Nikolic: Serbia in EU as a whole - it's either that or nothing

Serbia is firmly on the path towards full membership of the EU, but wants to enter Europe as an integral whole - it is either that or nothing, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said at the central ceremony marking Serbia's Armed Forces Day and Victory Day in Zrenjanin on Monday.

ZRENJANIN - Serbia is firmly on the path towards full membership of the EU, but wants to enter Europe as an integral whole - it is either that or nothing, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said at the central ceremony marking Serbia's Armed Forces Day and Victory Day in Zrenjanin on Monday.

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"Some representatives of the EU are giving us a hint that Serbia's entry into the European community of nations might be conditional on recognizing (the self-proclaimed independence of) Kosovo-Metohija. If it really be demanded of us, it means that they do not want us. Serbia, a UN member, wants to enter  Europe as a whole - it's either that or nothing. That is the principle Europe was built on and that is a Europe we want. Our ancestors handed our fatherland Serbia over to us in its entirety and we need to keep it that way and hand it over to our descendants unbroken," said Nikolic.

Serbia is committed, by word and deed, to honoring the principles of freedom, understanding and cooperation, accepting differences and keeping the peace in the country, the region and the world - the president said.

Nikolic also said that he was proud to see the central Victory Day celebration taking place in Zrenjanin, a city that had always been an example of how people of different nationalities could live together in harmony, a symbol of joint resistance to countless enemies and an emblem of perseverance, acceptance of differences, understanding and one of those cities that we could proudly call historical and cultural centers of Vojvodina and Serbia.

(Telegraf.co.uk / Tanjug)