Speaking to his host at the National Assembly House, Fini said that Serbia had met all the requirements and should be granted EU candidate status on 1 March. He deemed that recognising Serbia’s candidate status was in the interest of the European Union as it would open a new phase of stability in the region. Regarding the Kosovo-Metohija issue, Fini stated that the EU should not lose sigh of the fact that 90% of the population in the north of Kosovo belongs to the Serbian culture, language and people and how important the cultural sanctities and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo-Metohija are for Serbia’s cultural heritage.

National Assembly Speaker Slavica Djukic Dejanovic said that the third official meeting with Fini points to the existence of good political and economic relations between the two countries which were greatly aided by inter-parliamentary cooperation. The Speaker was grateful for Italy’s support of Serbia’s progress to the European Union, as well as the fact that Italy’s many donations have proven extremely significant. As regards Kosovo-Metohija, Djukic Dejanovic stressed that there is no alternative to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.