EU statement delivered by H.E. Ambassador Stanislav Raščan
Mr Chairman, the EU would like to take this opportunity to condemn, in the strongest terms, the recent violence in Belgrade, particularly the attacks against foreign diplomatic missions which resulted in damage to embassy premises and endangered diplomatic personnel, as well as the lives of citizens.
The EU reminds the government of the Republic of Serbia of its responsibility to protect the premises of diplomatic missions and their staff in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and urges the government of the Republic of Serbia to respect previous commitments to refrain from any activities or statements which might endanger the security situation, and to ensure the safety and security of EU citizens, commercial enterprises, and their property.
The EU rejects and condemns any suggestion that the use of violence as a means of protest is in some way legitimate. The EU urges all members of the Serbian Government to express clear and unequivocal condemnation of the violence and to make clear its determination to apprehend the perpetrators and to uphold its international obligations to protect diplomatic premises. The EU therefore welcomes the statements issued by President Tadić and Foreign Minister Jeremić as well as the note verbale circulated by the Permanent Mission of Serbia on 22 February.
The candidate countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, the European Free Trade Association countries and members of the European Economic Area Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, as well as Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this statement.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process
