Speaker Gojkovic said she was pleased to have the European Commissioner visiting so soon after the constitution of the Parliament and the election of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, stressing that the visit shows significant support to the European integration and reform Serbia is to undertake. The National Assembly Speaker said she hoped that Brussels recognised the specific political moment in Serbia, meaning the results of the recent elections after which six coalitions with a broad consensus on foreign policy priorities and full EU membership entered the Parliament. She also said she hoped the European Union would support Serbia’s economic reforms announced by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, as well as the judiciary, public administration, freedom of speech and human rights reforms, adding that she sees the Parliament playing a significant role in all of them.
European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule said that the visit by EU high representatives should be viewed as an expression of the high expectations the EU has of Serbia. Fule stressed that Serbia now has a strong Government with high ambitions as regards the EU accession process, adding that Catherine Ashton and he stand ready to assist Serbia in the process. Fule also drew attention to the two emerging challenges: complication of the situation in Europe and the fact that Serbian citizens need to feel an improvement in the course of the EU accession process itself. Stefan Fule went on to underline the Parliament’s important role in the accession process with a special focus on the role of the European Integration Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee.
The meeting was also attended by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson Irena Vujovic and European Integration Committee Chairman Aleksandar Senic.


In the course of his visit to the National Assembly, European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule also met with representatives of the National Assembly’s parliamentary groups. Fule endorsed Serbia’s European integration underlining the National Assembly’s important role in the process. The country’s economic recovery, promotion of the rule of law and regional cooperation, and most importantly the continued dialogue with Pristina are Serbia’s priorities on the road to European integration, said Stefan Fule.
In the course of the meeting with the representatives of the parliamentary groups, the participants agreed that it was important to achieve high-quality reform which would in turn contribute to a better quality of living for the citizens of Serbia. They also highlighted the importance of implementation of the laws from the European agenda already passed.
In addition to National Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic, the meeting with the European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy was also attended by the Head of the Serbian Progressive Party Parliamentary Group Zoran Babic, Deputy Head of the Socialist Party of Serbia Parliamentary Group Branko Ruzic, Head of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group Dragan Djilas, Head of the Boris Tadic – New Democratic Party, Together for Serbia, Greens of Serbia Parliamentary Group Marko Djurisic, Deputy Head of the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia Parliamentary Group Konstantin Arsenovic, Head of the Social Democratic Party of Serbia Parliamentary Group Dr Milorad Mijatovic, Head of the United Serbia Parliamentary Group Dragan Markovic, Head of the New Serbia Parliamentary Group Miroslav Markicevic, Head of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians Parliamentary Group Balint Pasztor, Head of the Serbian Renewal Movement – Demo-Christian Party of Serbia Parliamentary Group Aleksandar Jugovic, Head of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina Parliamentary Group Nenad Canak and Head of the SDA Sandzak – Party of Democratic Action Parliamentary Group Sulejman Ugljanin.