A question for our Serbian friends

[Vuk]

Is it smart for Serbia to not be participating in the NATO war games being held in Georgia? What factors are influencing this and what do you think about it?

[Sarmatian]

There are several factors...

1) Events between March 24th and June 11th 1999

2) Parliament resolution which states that Serbia must maintain military neutrality.

3) Recognition of Kosovo by almost all NATO countries.

4) War games in Georgia are bound to make Russia angry and they are our most reliable ally at the moment and are supporting us strongly with everything regarding Kosovo. It's in Serbian interest to maintain best possible relations with Russia otherwise we would end up pretty much isolated.

Entire idea of war games in Georgia is bad. It's not gonna scare Russia, it will just piss her off. Also. volatile political situation doesn't help, with demonstrations and mutinies in Georgia...

[Jolt]

When Serbia joins the EU, it will obviously become biased, militarily.

[Sarmatian]

I'm hoping it's a question of "if" rather than "when" but in any case, EU isn't a military alliance...

[Kadagar_AV]

I'm hoping it's a question of "if" rather than "when" but in any case, EU isn't a military alliance...

yes and no...

It has not been tested yet as no EU country has been attacked. But in reality I am rather sure the EU would react.

And don't forget the battle groups currently being assembled...

[Jolt]

I'm hoping it's a question of "if" rather than "when" but in any case, EU isn't a military alliance...

You don't want Serbia to join the EU? :O

[Furunculus]

well the economic benefits are nice, but would you hang with your rapist because he slipped you a tenner every now and then?

[Sarmatian]

You don't want Serbia to join the EU? :O

That's right, at least for the time being. A decade of humiliation and conditions and whenever one condition is fulfilled a new one is thought up. First it was Milosevic, then it was cooperation with Hague tribunal, in a sense extradite those you know where they are. After that it was Karadzic and Mladic. When Karadzic was arrested, it was no longer only Mladic, suddenly someone remembered Goran Hadzic and I bet no one outside, even most in Serbia, has ever heard of Goran Hadzic. So now it's Mladic and Hadzic. Like Sith Lords, always two there are.

Whenever Serbia makes a step, Brussels pulls the finish line two steps farther. When I want to visit any EU country, I'm being checked like I'm leaving an Ebola quarantine zone and not a country. I have to explain why would I want to visit that particular country, to prove that I'm either a student or working, that my parents have enough money, that I have a place to stay, to present the money that I'm going to spend, to sign a written statement that I won't prostitute myself, that my grandfather wasn't a transvestite, that there's no history of insanity in my family etc etc...

When I wanted to visit Italy a few years back, it took me two weeks just to gather all the paperwork and then I had to visit Italian embassy in Belgrade. There I met an elderly lady who wanted visa to visit her daughter who's married to an Italian and is living there. Her husband died, she didn't have anyone except her daughter's family in Italy. She had all the necessary paperwork, a letter of guarantee from her daughter and son-in-law that stated she is going to stay with them and whatnot. She was asked to present a 1000 euros that she's gonna spend there. Her pension was about 100 euros. Since they've known that, they've told here it's not enough just to bring proof that she's got 1000 euros on her bank account, because she could borrow money, put in the bank and withdraw it later - no, she had to bring cash to present and then they've written down the serial numbers of each and every bill because she had to present those same bills first thing when she landed in Italy... After seeing that I've left the embassy, trying my best not to use bad words out loud and decided not to visit Italy for the foreseeable future. There are other countries that won't mind my money.

I don't want to be where I'm not wanted, simple as that, and I don't see some great benefit of joining bureaucratic quagmire that is EU. Great enough to make me forget a very long time of continuous humiliations anyway. Cooperation, agreements, free trade etc... - that's fine with me, we don't have to be in EU to have that.

Also, in theory EU and NATO are two separate issues, in reality it doesn't work that way. They're very much connected and I wouldn't want to see Serbia in NATO under any circumstances...

Who know,s it might just be a case of good ol' Serbian inat, but that's how I feel...

True, but the EU offers economic development along with breaking the diplomatic isolation Serbia suffered after the war. But I do understand the feeling.

Bulgaria joined EU 1st January 2007, Serbia and Bulgaria are comparable in territory, population and GDP - Serbia had bigger GDP growth than Bulgaria in 2007.

[Furunculus]

There are several factors...

1) Events between March 24th and June 11th 1999

2) Parliament resolution which states that Serbia must maintain military neutrality.

3) Recognition of Kosovo by almost all NATO countries.

4) War games in Georgia are bound to make Russia angry and they are our most reliable ally at the moment and are supporting us strongly with everything regarding Kosovo. It's in Serbian interest to maintain best possible relations with Russia otherwise we would end up pretty much isolated.

Entire idea of war games in Georgia is bad. It's not gonna scare Russia, it will just piss her off. Also. volatile political situation doesn't help, with demonstrations and mutinies in Georgia...

looking at it from serbia's perspective, i agree.