Mr Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations has met Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic this morning. After the meeting, Commissioner Hahn emphasised that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is important; however it is not the essence of the process of accession of Serbia to the European Union.
“I do regret that the dialogue is on hold and it is not good, but it would be a mistake to stop everything else due to a standstill in that field” said Commissioner Hahn, adding that there is still a lot to be done and that he is grateful that Serbia is doing everything to open the new chapters.
“Minister Jadranka Joksimovic and her team are very active, almost on daily basis, to make everything ready; we are preparing for new chapters opening during the Finnish Presidency. Administrative preparations need to be done in order to accomplish this goal, if there is support” claims EU Commissioner adding that elections for the European Parliament will not affect the process of accession, as it is conducted at the administrative level.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Brnabic said that the discussion was mainly devoted to the rule of law reform. She emphasised that Serbia would continue structural economic reforms, as well as public administration reforms, for which the EU earmarked the assistance to the amount of EUR 80 million.
“Another important topic we discussed were regional initiatives and networking, and all activities we are doing with the European Commission in order to create an integrated, stable, better connected and economically prosperous region,” said the Prime Minister, adding that a major problem for deepening cooperation is the introduction of taxes on Serbian goods by Pristina. She praised the Brussels officials who unanimously expressed opposition towards the measure.
Commissioner Hahn has understanding for the position of the Serbian Government regarding taxes, which, according to his opinion, violated the principle of free trade, but added that there were other areas for cooperation and improvement of regional relations.
“One of those areas is the abandonment or partial abandonment of charging roaming tariffs, primarily for data transfer. This is something that would bring great benefits to the business sector, and I am therefore pleased to see the readiness of the Government to support such initiatives and to find the way to achieve this” said Commissioner Hahn.
Prime Minister Brnabic announced that work on constitutional amendments was ongoing, expressing the hope that they would be included in the parliamentary procedure during the spring session. She also announced more governmental support to civil initiatives and civil society, and stated that she would participate in the central event of the International Civil Society Week, which is going to be held in Belgrade on April 8th.
Photo: European Commission Audiovisual Services
Yesterday, the EU Commissioner met the President Aleksandar Vucic and discussed Serbia’s EU integration process, situation in the region and the problems in the dialogue with Pristina. As announced by the Presidency, Mr Hahn insisted on advancing on democratic governance and the rule of law, for the benefit of the society and in order to move Serbia forward on its EU accession path. Commissioner Hahn and President Vucic will attend the opening of the renovated Golubac Fortress today.
