The European Union is one of the most successful projects in modern history, and despite challenges Western Balkans countries are faced with, they are offered a chance to join the EU and experience the benefits of peace and security united Europe can offer, said Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport. Lithuanian experience serves as an example of a successful EU integration, and may be useful for Serbia on its own EU path, said Ambassador at the conference on Lithuanian EU accession experience, held within the Europe Open programme to mark the Europe Day (9 May) in Serbia.
Speaking about Serbia at the conference Ten Years in the EU: Achievements of the Lithuanian Integration, Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead, Davenport said: “I have no doubt that although there is a big set of challenges and a lot of work ahead, there is more than ever strong commitment to realising these common goals on the way to EU membership.”
Stressing the importance of building and developing bilateral relations with the EU Member States during the EU accession process, Davenport said Lithuanian example of successful integration may be useful for Serbia.
Ten years of the biggest EU enlargement, the time when 10 new Central and Eastern European countries joined the EU, Lithuanian accession experience and the first ten EU membership years were discussed in the National Assembly of Serbia.
Congratulating Serbia on opening the accession negotiations, Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time when Lithuania joined the EU, Ambassador Antanas Valionis said “this isn’t just a step forward, but a qualitatively new stage in EU-Serbia relations”.
“Each accession case of course is very different but still the majority of experience is relevant to all acceding countries,” said Valionis, who was also the chief negotiator during accession talks, adding that “the key point being in EU is country’s readiness to live and function together, not only to enjoy the benefits but also to share responsibilities”.
Minister without portfolio in charge of European integration Jadranka Joksimović said that after Serbia gained a candidate country status, “consensus on EU membership has been built, and this reflects in the fact that the Parliament is now constituted of pro-European parties only.”
Following the initiative of the Lithuanian Embassy in Budapest, the conference was jointly organised by European Integration Office of the Government of Serbia, and the EU Delegation to Serbia, with the aim of sharing the accession negotiations experience, but also of pointing out the political, economic, and social changes resulting from ten years of Lithuanian EU membership.
