During his two-day visit to Serbia, EP Rapporteur for Serbia/Chair of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee David McAllister met with Serbia Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Minister in charge of European integration Jadranka Joksimovic, representatives of the Democratic Party, President of the Parliamentary Committee for European Integration Marinko Tepic and representatives of CSOs.
McAllister visited Danas daily newsroom and said he firmly believed in media freedom, adding that in the draft of his latest Report on Serbia he expressed regret at the lack of progress in that area, writes Danas daily.
He told journalists and editors of Danas daily that he discussed forthcoming presidential elections with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, adding that his conversations with the Prime Minister are “always interesting.”
In his interview with Danas daily McAllister expressed his views on the process of normalisation of ties between Belgrade and Pristina, Serbian EU accession process, regional cooperation, migrant crisis and “the case of Savamala.” Danas daily recalled that the Rapporteur’s draft Report, scheduled for discussion in the EP in March, called for “a swift resolution of that controversial event.”
EP Rapporteur for Serbia, David McAllister, a prominent member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, notes that 2017 will be very important for Europe and the world. He said that forthcoming election campaigns in several countries, including Germany and France, were heating up, and stressed the impact Donald Trump’s recent election as the President of the United Sates had on those campaigns, writes Danas daily.
Together with Danas journalists, McAllister paid a visit to the warehouse of the central bus station in Belgrade turned into shelter for numerous migrants passing through Serbia who are refusing to stay at accommodation centres. After the visit he said: “I have read plenty about this place but the impression is far stronger once you see it with your own eyes. It is a deeply moving scene.”
He said that Serbia “treats migrants much better than many other countries and has therefore earned the respect of the international community,” Danas writes.
