Brnabic: EU enlargement process not based on merit, but on politics

BRUSSELS - Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic on Thursday strongly condemned the narrative that the EU enlargement process was merit-based, and noted that, four years ago, Serbia had met all conditions for opening Cluster 3 in its accession talks and that she did not know how to explain to citizens why the cluster had not been opened yet.

Speaking at an EU-Western Balkans conference, hosted in Brussels by the Friends of Europe think tank, Brnabic said the enlargement process was based on politics rather than on merit, but noted that her criticism was not directed at the European Commission.

She said Serbia was fully aligned with EU values and noted that taking some bilateral disputes to the EU would help to resolve them.

She added that the enlargement process "should be merit-based, but it is not."

"It is politically based and politically governed....