This evening I attended in Utrecht an interesting lecture of SIB-Utrecht and IKV Pax Christi with the title “(P)raising Serbia”. A Serbian journalist, an Serbian former activist and a Dutch member of the European Parliament were invited.: it was an interesting evening, but my personal opinion did not change after the lecture, it was just a confirmation of what I thought already: Serbia deserves to become candidate member of the EU next Friday. Serbia has his own (rich!) culture, just like all the other current EU-member states which we should respect on all sides (EU in between and Serbia). Serbia is facing currently, as a lot of other countries, a lot of difficulties: economical, social, juridical and of course,for Serbia the Kosovo question. These are all problems the EU are facing, we do not want to know about Kosovo in the EU, but it is an European problem, because Serbia and Kosovo are part of Europe….
Quote: “There are as much good things in Serbia as in the EU,as there are bad things about Serbia, as about the EU”. Reforms can be dictated by the government (as it was usual in Serbia), but it should also be supported by the people…In Serbia, but also the EU.
Twelve years ago such an approach was unbelievable, when NATO bombed Serbia&Montenegro and we have to see the developments also in this perspective….It needs time, just look how long it took France and Germany to become peaceful to each other. What I see and hear about Serbia is a signal and it is a good signal: we should not focus on the bad things, but at the good things achieved yet 
!
Europe can be approached as a “technical” thing, which can be good as it can only provoke “national sentiments” when we approach it only as a political thing. Europe is a continent, which share common values, which has a common ideas and one of them is that we do not want to fight any more, but that we want to live in peace and stability: in the EU, but as well in Serbia and the whole Western Balkans….
So let the door be open, for me personally, Serbia and the Western-Balkans are more then welcome!