Czech President and Slovak counterpart express their support of Croatian and Serbian EU accession

At a two-day meeting of Czech President Václav Klaus with his counterparts from Slovakia, Croatia and Serbia at the Lány castle near Prague, Mr. Klaus and Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič expressed their support of the Croatian EU accession and Serbia’s long-term plans to join the EU. Mr. Gašparovič said that in light of the difficult situation in the Balkans, the countries‘ efforts to join the EU were a positive step. He added that he was confident Serbia was soon going to granted EU accession candidate status. Mr. Klaus said that a Serbian EU accession would also bring advantages for the Czech Republic. Serbian President Boris Tadic left the two-day meeting Saturday evening; the Slovak, Croatian and Czech presidents on Sunday commemorated the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, in the Lány cemetery, where he is buried.

Croatia is set to become the 28th member of the EU in July 2013. Serbia is still waiting to receive EU candidacy status. Its territorial demands on Kosovo have been an obstacle in its effort to join the EU.

Author: Sarah Borufka