The President of the Committee of the Serbian Parliament for Foreign Affairs, Borko Stefanović, stated today at a meeting with the members of the Working Group of the Council of the EU (COELA) that Serbia should harmonize its foreign policy with the foreign policy of the EU.
Stefanović informed those representatives of the COELA Working Body of the EU Council for Enlargement and the countries that are conducting EU accession negotiations, who visited the Assembly for the first time in that format, that Serbia’s main foreign policy goal is to become a member of the EU as soon as possible, the Assembly announced.
He added that it is necessary for Serbia to harmonize its foreign policy with the foreign policy of the EU, as well as that there are numerous problems in Serbia, such as media freedom and the rule of law, on which it is necessary to further work and implement reforms in these areas.
Stefanović said that he expects that this delegation will make a contribution to Serbia becoming a member of the EU as soon as possible and that this part of Europe “must not remain in limbo, especially not because of geopolitical changes”.
Opinions and positions were exchanged on “concretization of the process of joining Serbia to the EU” and “challenges” in that process.
Members of the Serbian Parliament assessed that the opening of negotiation chapters and “clusters” does not follow the dynamics of the reforms achieved in Serbia.
According to the press release, the members of the Parliament of Serbia informed COELA members in detail about the areas in which Serbia has made reform progress, with a special emphasis on constitutional changes and reforms in the field of justice.
Special attention is devoted to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and “the constructiveness that Serbia has shown in that process, while on the other hand it is still waiting for the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities”, the announcement reads.
On behalf of Sweden’s presidency of the Working Body of the EU Council for Enlargement and the Countries Leading EU Accession Negotiations (COELA) based in Brussels, Suzana Lisik reiterated the EU’s commitment to Serbia’s perspective for membership in the European Union, recalling that the EU is the largest investor, donor and trade partner of Serbia.
She emphasized the importance attached to the parliament in the political dialogue.
The EU member states also reminded how important it is for Serbia to further accelerate and implement reforms in basic areas, such as the rule of law and basic human rights, the independence and functioning of the judiciary, freedom of expression, including media freedom, and the fight against corruption and organized crime.
The member states reiterated the EU’s expectations that Serbia, as a partner country and a candidate for joining the EU, should comply with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, including EU restrictive measures, as a key aspect of the EU integration process and a strong expression of the strategic choice of partners and place in the community. values.
In the conversation, according to the press release, special attention was paid to the exchange of opinions on the issue of the conflict in Ukraine and the harmonization of Serbia with the EU’s foreign policy.
The members of the Committee presented the positions of their parliamentary groups on these issues, and the Deputy President of the Committee, Marina Raguš, “informed European colleagues in detail about the state policy of Serbia and its determination on these issues, especially when it comes to not imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation,” the announcement reads.