fuck yeah eastern europe

Feb. 29, 2012 at 12:03pm with 11 notes

Romania Revives Split Among Serbia’s Vlachs

Romania’s unexpected move to hold up an EU debate on Serbia’s EU candidacy over the rights of the country’s Vlach minority has reignited divisions in the community in Serbia.

Romania yesterday fended off criticism of its delaying tactics at the EU meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, saying Serbia must do more to protect the rights of its Vlach minority.

Bucharest held up an agreement on awarding Serbia EU candidate status for several hours in Brussels, drawing annoyed comments from other diplomats present.

…Romania’s opposition to Serbia becoming an EU candidate came as a surprise, as the two countries are generally considered allies. Romania is one of only five EU countries that have refused to recognise Kosovo’s independence.

One Romanian journalist said Bucharest’s motives had little to do with the position of the Vlachs in Serbia and more to do with Romania’s frustration about being excluded from the passport-free Schengen zone.

…Nevertheless, the issue of Vlach minorities is important in Romania. Many Vlachs speak a Romance language and are considered by Bucharest to be the same as ethnic Romanians.

Adding to the confusion, the Vlach community in Serbia is divided between those who consider themselves Serbian and those who declare themselves Romanian Vlachs.

…The President of the Vlach National Council in Serbia, Radisa Dragojevic, told Serbia’s Tanjug news agency that Romania had no right to demand anything from Serbia regarding Vlachs.

He maintains that the Romanian minority in Serbia is quite different from the Vlach community, and that Vlach minority rights are not being suppressed.

“We have no need to ask help from Romania, nor can Romania ask for anything on our behalf,” Dragojevic said.

However, Tihan Matasarevic, of the Vlach Democratic Party of Serbia, disagrees, saying Vlachs do not enjoy all their rights under the Serbian constitution.

“We do not have church services or schools in our language because about a year ago the [Vlach] National Council declared Serbian to be our mother tongue,” he complained.

“We just want to enjoy the same constitutional rights as most other minorities in Serbia and I hope that after the discussion in Brussels things will be better,” Matasarevic said.