The Director-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson met today with the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić, and the MPs from the European and Foreign Affairs Committee.

Danielsson pointed that Serbia has very good results in fiscal consolidation, but that further reforms and informal economy reduction are needed. The need to improve rule of law and democratic institution operation was particularly emphasized, as stated from the President’s Office.

The Union sent clear messages to Priština on the necessity of withdrawal of decision on taxes, and the continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština is of key importance to Serbia. Vučić says that Serbia is committed to stable Balkans.

“Serbia is in favour of peace and stability in the region, so regional cooperation, strengthening of relations with neighbours and continuation of the reconciliation policy are on the list of our foreign policy priorities”, pointed out the President of Serbia.

Talking to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Danielsson said that the present position of the EU institutions is very open to the region, and invited countries in the accession process to use the present moment.

Dačić claims that the EU membership remains an absolute foreign policy priority of Serbia, and he hopes that the enlargement will stay high on the agenda in Brussels in the following period.

Dačić and Danielsson agreed that it is necessary to jointly promote efforts on improving the EU’s visibility, as the EU is the largest trade partner of Serbia, with almost two thirds share in the total trade exchange, and it is also the largest donor, according to the communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Danielsson completes his three-day visit to Serbia with meetings with the highest state representatives. During his visit, he spoke at the Kopaonik Business Forum and took part in grant certificate award ceremony for the owners of small and micro and small enterprises within the EU PRO project, in Kraljevo.