In a joint Twitter chat with citizens, organised on the occasion of Italian presidency of the European Union, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport and Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Manzo said the EU acknowledged Serbia’s commitment to pursue reforms.
“New Government is committed, just as the Prime Minister (Aleksandar Vučić) said in his exposé. We encourage the Government to pursue reforms,” Ambassador Manzo said.
Asked about Prime Minister’s recent visit to Moscow Davenport said that to EU, maintaining good relations between Serbia and other partners was important, and “to the EU, Russia remains an important partner”.
When asked the question of what is the position of media laws in the EU’s priority list, Davenport said that the implementation of media strategy was of great importance to the EU, as well as passing the laws in this field.
To the question of whether persons who plagiarised their PhD theses and were engaged in public affairs were acceptable as interlocutors, the two officials responded they welcomed the authorities’ intention to investigate the allegations regarding PhD theses.
Asked if the Italy’s agenda during its Presidency of the Council of the EU recognises the importance of Western Balkans countries’ facing their past, the Italian Ambassador said the past mattered, as well as the future.
“Serbia’s swift return to the EU is on the Italian agenda”, Ambassador highlighted during his hour long Twitter chat with citizens as well as media and non-governmental sector representatives.
Manzo said the the environmental protection was of major importance during Serbia’s accession negotiations, and the EU was in continuous contact with the authorities regarding this area.
Davenport ssaid that in the framework of EU accession talks, the EU would also insist on dealing with the legacy of the armed conflicts in former Yugoslavia, because according to him, facing the past was a prerequisite to reconciliation and efficient regional cooperation.
“We support all efforts for addressing the issues from the past,” the EU Ambassador wrote.
When asked to “evaluate his trust in Aleksandar Vučić on a scale of 1-10”, Davenport said he had “stopped evaluating people 25 years ago when (his) teacher carrer ended.”
Together with Minister in charge of Euroepan integration Jadranka Joksimović, ambassadors Davenport and Manzo then talked to citizens who had visited the Italian Embassy within the Open Doors manifestation.
