National Assembly Speaker Nebojsa Stefanovic stated that since his official visit to Luxembourg and meetings with the country’s officials, Serbia has continued the on-going reforms, especially in view of the expectation that our country would be granted a start date for the European Union accession talks by the end of June. Stefanovic thanked Luxembourg for it support, hoping that it would continue to be an important partner on Serbia’s road to the European Union.
Ambassador Baillie confirmed Luxembourg’s support, commending the bravery Serbia has exhibited in the reform process, especially as regards the negotiations process with Pristina which resulted in the Brussels Agreement. Baillie was pleased about the open dialogue with the Serbian officials and all the explanations she was given about the reform process and the implementation of the Brussels Agreement, which is, she said, very important in order to be able to understand the situation and Serbia’s position. Madam Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was particularly pleased that she is visiting at this, she said, historic moment for both Serbia and the European Union which will make it possible to look to a common future. Ambassador Baillie said that Serbia has Luxembourg’s support in its progress toward the European Union.
The National Assembly Speaker said that there is a strong political will to continue with and persevere in the integration into the European Union. As regards the Brussels Agreement, Stefanovic highlighted the visit of the First Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to the north of Kosovo where, he said, he had openly explained all of its aspects so as to enable the implementation of said Agreement with the support of the people living there.
As regards European integration, Stefanovic said that Serbia would use the positive experience garnered by countries which had already undergone the process, opining that economic issues would be the most sensitive topic in the upcoming negotiations considering the bad situation the new Government inherited. The National Assembly Speaker asked for suggestions from Luxembourg which might help the talks go successfully and smoothly.
Ambassador Baillie noted that the Parliament plays another important role in the negotiations process – it keeps the public informed on the process itself, adding that the European Union itself is currently experiencing a crisis of trust in many of its member countries. However, Baillie was pleased to see that Serbia is eager to commence the integration process as soon as possible.
Stefanovic said that Serbia has often in the past used the European Union to justify many unpopular decisions, even ones not connected to Euro-integration, adding that he hoped that, by the end of October, the Parliament would have a complete structure for negotiations and opining that it all depended on us.
The officials were both pleased by the resolution of the issue of false asylum-seekers from Serbia in Luxembourg where Serbian citizens make up 5% of the total number of such cases, which is a big change compared to the previous period. Ambassador Baillie emphasised the good communication with the Serbian Government on the matter, reminding of the meetings the National Assembly Speaker had during his visit to Luxembourg, soon followed by the Republic of Serbia being granted the status of “safe country”.