Fabrizi: Serbia has made the greatest progress toward EU accession among the candidate countries

Head of EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi said that Serbia had made the greatest progress toward EU accession among the candidate countries, describing economic and rule of law reform as crucial in that process.

At a NALED’s conference, Ambassador Fabrizi said he had two messages for Serbia: The first is that the topic of enlargement is back in EU’s focus, and the second is that Serbia needs to focus more on economic and rule of law reform.

He reminded that the European Commission would publish its WB Enlargement Strategy on 6 February, adding that drawing up a Strategy speaks volumes about EU’s orientation toward enlargement.

“Serbia has made the greatest progress toward EU accession among the candidate countries. I want to encourage you to seize this unique opportunity to follow through with the on-going reform. Apart from the economic reform we are witnessing, it is equally important to focus on the rule law“, Fabrizi said.

EU Ambassador recalled that the majority of chapters dealt with economic reform, such as public procurement and intellectual property.

“There is much to do in the area of economy. I believe you are making good progress,” Fabrizi said and warned Serbia not to “lull” itself into thinking that it has finished the reform, because it is a non-stop process.

In the past seven years, he said, Serbia has tripled its exports to the EU – from EUR3 billion in 2009 to EUR8.5 billion in 2017 – proving that Serbia is getting closer to and becoming a greater partner of the EU.

When it comes to the rule of law, Fabrizi said that independent judicial system was very important, and that fight against corruption was crucial for doing business and creating favourable business environment. Equally important, he said, are the freedoms of speech and expression.

Apart from economic and rule of law reform, what matters is the Pristina dialogue.

“We expect the dialogue to intensify at any moment. We need more dialogue,” Head of the EU Delegation said.

The EU has allocated EUR200 million per year to assist Serbia in implementing reform, Fabrizi said and added that he was happy with the so-far implemented reform.

“I hope 2018 will be the year of the Balkans and that it will bring progress to everyone,” Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi noted.