During his first official visit to Serbia as the EU High Representative/Vice-President, Josep Borrell met with Serbia’s leaders and members of the opposition, passing his message of commitment to strengthening the ties between Serbia and the EU, and his vision on the way forward in bringing Serbia, as well as the rest of the Western Balkans, closer to the EU.
“I am here to reassure you of the continuous EU commitment to the European Union perspective of Serbia”, HR/VP Borrell affirmed during his visit to Belgrade today.
During his talks with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, the HR/VP stated that the “accession negotiations of Serbia can proceed faster” and that this will require increased efforts on the Serbian but also on the EU side.
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During the visit, EU foreign policy chief explained the concrete financial and technical support which the EU provides to Serbia. “In the last 10 years almost €2.5 billion have been granted to Serbia,” he said.
The HR/VP commended Serbia’s active participation in EU missions and operations in Somalia, Mali and Central African Republic, where Serbian personnel serves hand in hand with EU staff.
“In addition to security cooperation, I would also like to further intensify our foreign policy cooperation with Serbia”, HR/VP Borrell said, stressing that during the accession process, every country should progressively align its foreign policy with the one of the EU.
“We should be addressing international challenges with one voice more often. And of course – I want to insist on that – we need to continue to work towards a comprehensive normalisation with Kosovo and on the implementation of all agreements already reached” said HR/VP Borrell, expressing his personal commitment to facilitate the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue.
During his visit to Belgrade, he also met the Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. The HR/VP underlined the importance on advancing on the rule of law and media freedom.
The HR/VP Borrell also met the representatives of the opposition political parties.
The High Representative finishes his Western Balkans trip on the 1st of February.
European Union