2 October 2017 The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in meeting with the members of the UK parliamentary delegation

2 October 2017 The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in meeting with the members of the UK parliamentary delegation

Monday, 2 October 2017

Foreign Affairs Committee Meets with UK Parliamentary Delegation

The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee met today with the delegation of the UK Parliament currently visiting the National Assembly, headed by John Whittingdale, member the House of Commons.


Taking to the UK parliamentarians, who are also members of the delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Committee member Dubravka Filipovski said that Serbia pursues a three pronged foreign policy – EU accession, regional cooperation and implementation of the Brussels Agreement i.e. normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

She opined that the UK parliamentarians’ visit greatly contributes to the promotion of the 180-year long history of bilateral relations and to the stabilization of relations in the Western Balkans.

„The EU accession process is very important for us and we expect the UK’s support despite the fact that its people had voted to leave the EU. I can responsibly claim that Serbia will manage to adjust its legislation and meet all the obligations to the EU by 2025“, said Filipovski.

She added that Serbia would like to expedite the negotiation process and has so far opened 10 negotiation chapters, two of which are closed temporarily, and by the end of the year expects to open additional three.

Filipovski said that besides the EU, Serbia maintains excellent cooperation with other states such as the Russian Federation, China and the USA, as well as with the countries in the region. She added there are no outstanding issues between Serbia and the UK, apart from their different stance on Kosovo-Metohija, and informed the UK parliamentarians about launching an internal dialogue in Serbia on Kosovo-Metohija.

Committee member Sanda Raskovic Ivic opined that Serbia’s path to the EU has been brought into question because the very future of the EU has been brought into question both by Brexit and the latest developments in Catalonia. She added that the EU had also failed to adequately respond to the migrant and economic crisis, and is closing its eyes to the Albanian side’s failure to fulfil the obligations of the Brussels Agreement.

In the meeting with the UK delegation, also attended by Committee members Prof. Dr Ljubisa Stojmirovic and Ljiljana Malusic, the parliamentarians opined that the Kosovo-Metohija issue is an internal issue, but also that Serbia had warned the international community of the consequences its unilaterally declared independence can have in Europe, and that the country is now following the developments in Catalonia with great concern. It was stressed that though Serbia would never recognize the independence of Kosovo-Metohija, it would continue to do all in its power to normalize relations with Pristina as it wants to find a solution which would contribute to the stability of the Western Balkans.

The UK delegation also comprised David Drew, member of the House of Commons, and Baroness D’Souza, Baroness Northover and Baroness Barker, members of the House of Lords.



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friday, 29 march
  • 9.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

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