Welcoming the colleagues from the parliaments of CEI member states, National Assembly Deputy Speaker and Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marina Ragus stressed that the meeting of chairpersons of foreign affairs committees, as well as the session of the CEI PD in Belgrade, are aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and supporting EU enlargement. She said that full EU membership remains Serbia’s chief foreign policy objective, hoping that the countries of the region will join the EU together.

“We are here to send a political message that we want EU membership, and that the EU understands that this is the goal of all of us," said Ragus.

CEI Secretary General Franco Dal Mas said that the Serbian chairmanship of the CEI PD is a good opportunity to highlight the contribution of the foreign affairs committees of the CEI member states, as well as the parliamentary dimension of this initiative, which is of strategic importance for the European integration process. He emphasised that the CEI should promote the process of integration and EU enlargement and serve as a means of ensuring regional stability and peace. He added that the CEI supports the accelerated accession of the Western Balkans to the EU, because it is not actually enlargement, but unification of the EU. In this process, the CEI, which promotes European values, has one of the main roles, especially taking into account cooperation with the European Commission.

Deputy National Coordinator of the Republic of Serbia for the CEI, Zoran Jovanovic opined that this year's chairmanship of the CEI, as the oldest regional initiative, is not only a recognition for Serbia, but it also demonstrates its commitment to regional cooperation and adherence to the European integration process. He said that Serbia remains committed to the goals of the CEI and sees its parliamentary dimension as the pillar on which it rests. He also added that by organising this gathering, the National Assembly has further improved this form of communication among the CEI member states.

Representatives of the foreign affairs committees of the CEI member states exchanged views on the issue of partnership within the CEI and support for EU enlargement, where Salvatore Caiata, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, stressed the importance of initiative, the importance of Serbia and the entire Western Balkans for the European enlargement process. He said that the process is slow and stressed the need to change the pace and rules of enlargement, urging the candidate countries to continue with the reform processes in their societies and their faith in enlargement.

Ioan Mihalcea, Deputy Chairman of the Romanian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, welcomed the EU's enlargement policy as the best geopolitical investment. He said that the EU's capacity to accept new members needs to be strengthened and stressed that Romania is committed to an accelerated enlargement process to the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.

The participants of today's meeting from Serbia, Romania, North Macedonia, Italy, Montenegro and Moldova shared their experiences of the European integration process and the role that the CEI PD has in the enlargement process, and unanimously adopted a Joint Statement in which they expressed their agreement that regional cooperation within the CEI framework, as well as the commitment to accelerating the process of European integration, contributes to strengthening regional cooperation and promoting good neighbourly relations, that they underscore the importance of cooperation among the foreign affairs committees of CEI member states, and that they believe that support for the policy of accelerated enlargement represents the right course of action.

"We hope that we will soon be counting the months, not decades, until EU accession," concluded National Assembly Deputy Speaker and Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marina Ragus and once again thanked her Italian colleagues for their support in organising this gathering in Serbia.