Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi spoke with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and said that Serbia was a welcome partner of the EU, adding that he was happy to continue close cooperation with the country, reads the statement released by the Government. Prime Minister Brnabic said that the Government would continue to actively work on getting Serbia closer to the EU as fast as possible.
Fabrizi informed Brnabic that he would continue to support the European path of Serbia both politically and economically.
Brnabic congratulated the Ambassador on his new post and said she would continue to contribute to regional cooperation and stability, fostering European values and further economic recovery of the country in order to make Serbia an equal member of the EU in the future.
Fabrizi and Serbian Minister in charge of European integration Jadranka Joksimovic also spoke about Serbia/EU relations and further cooperation, the process of European integration, reform and state of play in the region.
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Joksimovic said that Serbia would continue to be a reliable and constructive partner of the EU, adding that becoming a member of the EU was is in Serbia’s strategic interest, the Government said in a statement.
The Minister said that Serbia had so far opened 10 negotiating chapters, provisionally closed 2, and was expecting to open another few by the end of 2017 which would deal above all with company law, foreign economic relations as well as financial and budgetary provisions.
Joksimovic stressed that 49 per cent of Serbian citizens supported the European integration process and that majority of them knew that the EU was the biggest donor in the country – which is an important shift in their perception.
Head of the EU Delegation Sem Fabrizi said that his main role was to make the European path of Serbia more efficient, adding that he respected Serbia’s role in the region.
He pointed to importance of proceeding with reforms, particularly in the area of rule of law.
He said that Serbia had clear European perspective and good macroeconomic indicators, reads the statement.
Fabrizi said he was confident that Serbia would continue to move forward on the European path at the same pace.
EU ambassador said that the Union would support Serbia in its further accession process, noting that Serbia is a reliable partner of the EU, as confirmed during the migrant crisis and through Serbia’s role in preserving regional stability.
During his meeting with the First Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, Fabrizi invited him to attend the informal Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 7-8 September in Tallinn on behalf of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
In a statement released from the Minister’s Cabinet, Dacic said that EU membership remained Serbia’s foreignpolicypriority. They agreed on importance of frank and open relations between the two partners, in terms ofbothmembership negotiations and political dialogue.
Minister Dacic wished the new Ambassador every success in his future work, stressing that he can count on any support necessary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
