22 May 2018 The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in meeting with the French Senate delegation

22 May 2018 The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in meeting with the French Senate delegation

Tuesday, 22 May 2018

Foreign Affairs Committee Meets with French Senate Delegation

The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee headed by Chairman Prof. Dr Zarko Obradovic met today at the National Assembly with a delegation of the French Senate’s Committee for European Affairs headed by Chairman Jean Bizet.


The main topic of conversation was Serbia’s European integration, which is the country’s chief foreign policy goal, though the road to full EU membership is fraught with challenges. They also spoke about the cooperation between the two countries and the role of parliamentarians in dealing with the challenges the European continent is faced with.

Obradovic said that the well-developed cooperation between the two countries could always be improved and deepened. The Committee Chairman went on to mention the Strategic Partnership Agreement with France signed in support of Serbia’s EU efforts and to boost cooperation in the fields of defence, economy, culture, science and education. He said that the EU is combating internal problems, as well as the global challenges of terrorism, migrant crisis and human trafficking, and that parliamentarians play a key role in addressing them.

Speaking of Serbia’s EU accession, Obradovic said that Serbia wants to join the EU but the process is taking too long and Serbia has the capacity to speed it up. The Committee Chairman said that chapters 31 and 35 are the biggest challenges. Speaking of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue he said that Serbia is doing all in its power to advance it but the other side is impeding the implementation of the Brussels Agreement.

“The implementation of the agreement is of paramount importance for Serbia in order to address the burning issues impairing the quality of life of the people in Kosovo-Metohija”, said the Committee Chairman. He added that the EU did not react to Pristina’s not acting in accordance with the Brussels Agreement, which is not just Serbia’s but all of Europe’s security policy issue.

Speaking of Serbia’s cooperation with Russia, Obradovic said that the country’s good relations with the big powers - Russia, China and the USA, should not be misinterpreted – three quarters of Serbia’s export goes to European countries and the countries in the region, with only one going to the big powers.

French Senator Simon Sutour said that Serbia’s place is in the EU because it is a part of Europe, but the EU itself has a slew of problems that it has to address – Brexit, asylum-seeking migrants and terrorism. That is why the people of the EU seem distrustful of enlargement. “We are aware of the efforts Serbia has invested into European integration and harmonization with the EU acquis”, said Sutour.



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thursday, 28 march
  • 9.00 - consultations of representatives of the parliamentary groups about the election of deputy chairpersons of the National Assembly working bodies (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, hall 1)

  • 10.00 - visit of the students of Stevan Dukic Elementary School to the National Assembly House (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square)

  • 11.00 - visit of the students of Drinka Pavlovic Elementary School Student Parliament to the National Assembly House (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square)

  • 11.00 - press conference of the Green-Left Front – Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)оwn Parliamentary Group (National Assembly House 13, Nikola Pasic Square. Central Hall)

  • 13.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

Full event calendar