The Finnish Ambassador thanked the National Assembly Speaker for the reception, declaring the interparliamentary cooperation very important for the overall bilateral relations, stemming from the significance of parliaments in both countries’ political systems, and expressed pleasure on the intensive exchange of visits in the previous period. He said the Finnish side was ready to continue its support of Serbia’s Euro-integration, as well as the special institution of Ombudsman, also mentioning the support of the NGO sector through the project with the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, as well as the project of interparliamentary support.
The NARS Speaker expressed the Serbian side’s readiness to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially at the level of working bodies. He also highlighted the importance of economic cooperation, underlining the Serbian side’s interest in the production and placement of organic food, as well as cooperation in the sphere of energy production. He stressed that the Serbian side appreciates the help as regards the exchange of experiences in the Euro-integration process.
Speaker Stefanovic informed his guest that NARS is primarily oriented toward the quality of the Euro-integration process and in that context opined that the Serbian side would applaud the completion of the monitoring process of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. At Ambassador Orpana’s interest, the Serbian side shared its full support of the Igman Initiative as a type of regional cooperation, which the Finnish Ambassador would convey to the Nordic Council.
As regards the current report of the European Commission and the conclusions on the progress of the Republic of Serbia in the Euro-integration process, the Finnish Ambassador deemed that the elements of the report requesting further progress are “reachable” and aimed toward the designation of a date for the beginning of negotiations for EU accession.