The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, received today the Delegation of the European Parliament for Relations with South-Eastern European Countries headed by its Chairwoman, Doris Pack. The European Parliament’s Delegation is participating in the Second Inter-Parliamentary meeting between the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the European Parliament, held at the National Assembly House on 25 and 26 November.

Greeting the European parliamentarians, the National Assembly Speaker pointed out that inter-parliamentary meetings like this are of grave importance for strengthening the political dialogue between Serbia and the European Union, having in mind the role of parliaments in establishing consensus on the most important issues for every country. Serbia is clearly determined to join the European Union which is the priority of its foreign policy. Concerning it, the Government adopted the National Integration Programme based on which and in cooperation with the National Assembly, it will realise all the activities stemming from the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Serbia and the EU.

All activities connected with abiding by the undertaken international obligations are underway, Assembly Speaker Djukic-Dejanovic said, stressing that the National Assembly and the Government are committed to establish a democratic society, founded on the rule of law and respect of human and minority rights, the principles of market economy and creation of state institutions.

Delegation Head, Doris Pack pointed out that Serbia should make a significant step forward in order to receive the status of candidate for EU membership next year. She particularly stressed that a lot of work needs to be done before full liberalisation of the visa regime and that the parliament should exert pressure on the Government to speed up the process. In the discussion, the European parliamentarians also stated that the cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government should be improved and parliamentary control over its work should be established.