Romania stand on Serbia unfair: opposition

(BUCHAREST) - Romania's stalling of a deal to give Serbia official EU candidate status was unfair and it should instead help Belgrade meet European standards, the opposition leader said Thursday.

"Romania should not use tools that it would not like to be used against itself. This is unfair," Victor Ponta told foreign media in Bucharest.

"We should instead help Serbia join the EU and meet European standards," he added.

The bloc's EU affairs ministers had been poised to give the green light to Serbia's candidacy status on Tuesday but Romania threw a last-minute spanner into the works by demanding guarantees for Serbia's Vlachs minority.

Despite anger from the likes of Germany, Bucharest insisted on getting guarantees for the the Romanian-speaking of around 30,000 people. It finally won a pledge from the EU executive to monitor minority rights in Serbia.

The final verdict on Serbia's bid to join the EU club is due from leaders of the 27-nation bloc later Thursday after the start of a summit in Brussels.

Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu told AFP that Bucharest was merely seeking "normal" guarantees for Serbia's Vlachs. "You can't speak of a blockage," he said.

But Ponta, who could be prime minister if the opposition Social-Liberal Union (USL) wins the general elections due in November, stressed that Romania had been in a similar situation in 2004 as it tried to join the EU.

"Romania did not meet all criteria to join the EU, and yet several member states said that it was better to have us inside the EU" and gave their green light for entry in 2007.

Several diplomats have described Romania's stand on Serbia as a tit-for-tat response, after the Netherlands opposed its entry into the visa-free Schengen area.

"The idea is to prove that the Netherlands are wrong, not that we can do something wrong too," said Ponta.