Kovač threatened: Serbia will not be able to join the EU if it does not stop prosecuting Croatian defenders

Without changing the law on regional jurisdiction for war crimes, Serbia will not be able to join the European Union, reiterated the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miro Kovač, commenting on the statement of the head of the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office of Serbia that Serbia does not intend to give up on that law, reports the Patria News Agency.  

The head of the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office of Serbia, Milan Petrović, stated for Radio Free Europe on Thursday that Serbia does not intend to abolish the law on regional jurisdiction for war crimes and will continue to apply it, and that there are war crime cases in which Croatian citizens are suspected, including Croatian defenders.

"I do not understand such statements and I do not know why they are being made," Kovač said about Petrović's statement, emphasizing that "the criteria and standards are known," and that he is convinced they will be met. 

Kovač is traveling to Vojvodina on Friday as the envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina, where he will also meet with the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić.

"I will clearly tell Mr. Dačić that our desire is for the future to be European, and therefore the standards must be European. This means that Serbia will not be able to have such a law on war crimes," Kovač said.

"I will be happy to give support to Croats in Vojvodina who can finally enjoy all their minority rights and have a secured seat as a representative in the National Assembly," Kovač concluded, writes Index.