Pleased at the Commissioner Füle’s visit, the National Assembly Speaker stressed that the meeting with the heads of the parliamentary groups is important both for the Parliament and the Serbian citizens who will, he said, have the opportunity to learn about what will happen in the negotiations process with the European Union. Stefanovic thanked Füle for his principled support of Serbia’s beginning the process of accession talks, stressing that his help was invaluable. Presenting the heads of the parliamentary groups at the National Assembly, Stefanovic emphasised that this is an excellent opportunity for open dialogue on all issues relating to the process itself.

Thanking for the opportunity to address the heads of the parliamentary groups, the European Commissioner for Enlargement added that this is an important segment of his visit to Serbia as it allows interaction and exchange of opinions on the most important issues. Füle underlined two, in his opinion, important issues: the role of the parliament in the negotiations process which is an opportunity to strengthen its position since the National Assembly, as the most important institution, would thus strengthen its credibility. The second important goal is the openness of the talks for all the important social factors. Füle added that there are different negotiation models, but he believes they should be open for all the citizens and the process itself should involve representatives of civil society. The Commissioner for EU Enlargement recommended setting up the process in such a way so that the elected politicians may speak of specific results and achievements instead of a list of demands imposed by Brussels which call for difficult decisions and create difficulties which would disappear once European Union accession is achieved. Füle recommended using all the chapters of the negotiations as an opportunity to show how the citizens’ lives have improved in the course of the process, how everything is changing for the better.

The Head of the United Regions of Serbia Parliamentary Group Vladimir Ilic said that his party has been in favour of European integration since the beginning. Ilic said that he was sure that the current parliamentary legislature would fully endorse the process, considering its present and future majority support. The Head of the United Regions of Serbia Parliamentary Group opined that the European integration issue has been misused politically on several occasions, especially in electoral campaigns, and that the citizens did not have the opportunity to learn about the reality of the process, but that the time is finally right to change that and not use European integration for daily political purposes. Ilic concluded that the Parliament is ready to carry out this immense job to the end.

The Deputy Head of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, Janko Veselinovic, said he was pleased at the opportunity to have a frank discussion and quoted former Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic who compared Serbia’s position toward the European Union with a leaky ship lacking stability, but if we continue to empty out the water it might sail toward the European Union more steadily. Veselinovic added that the Democratic Party fully supports the integration process, but that this is an issue which calls for a consensus, stressing that the Government also needs to be accountable, and that it calls for an independent judiciary and media. Veselinovic also said that the implementation of laws is a bigger problem that their adoption and the Parliament’s oversight role needs to be intensified and added that his party would call for a consistent implementation of European values which will in turn raise the public trust.

The Head of the Democratic Party of Serbia Parliamentary Group, Slobodan Samardzic said that his party believes that the talks would be conducted in the shadow of uncertainty about Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, adding that chapter 35 will in fact be dedicated to the negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina. Samardzic opined that the goal of the talks is abstract and the process itself uncertain, suggesting that it is time for a more pragmatic and realistic plan with less ambitious programmes.

Veroljub Arsic, Head of the Serbian Progressive Party Parliamentary Group, said that he believes that what is to come is serious work aimed at two ends. One is, according to him, the implementation of the Brussels Agreement, respecting everything that had been agreed before and thus proving the seriousness and strength of the negotiating position. The second, continued Arsic, is harmonising domestic legislation with European Union legislation, which he opined is an important process not only for European integration but for the Serbian citizens and the ongoing reform process as well.

Milorad Mijatovic, Head of the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, reminded of the introduction of the visa-free regime for Serbian citizens as the moment confirming the European Union’s commitment to having Serbia in Europe. Mijatovic added that their party is interested in seeing the talks finish quickly and Serbia join the European Union, European Union standards taking root in Serbia by turning it into a well-ordered country, and concluded that we are European because that is how we feel.

Balint Pasztor, Head of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians Parliamentary Group, said that his party supports European integration reminding that, though he is a representative of an opposition party, he congratulated the Government on its courage in the last year and opined that the courage is here to stay. Pasztor hopes that the Parliament will influence the course of the talks emphasising the importance of the national minorities’ issues in the talks, as is envisaged in the Copenhagen documents, as well as the rule of law, i.e. the open issue of the right of foreigners to buy agricultural land in Serbia. Pasztor opined that Serbia and the European Union should find a solution on how to protect agricultural producers.

Dubravka Filipovski, Deputy Head of the New Serbia Parliamentary Group, said that the Serbian citizens are aware of the importance of the moment and added that she expects the National Assembly to play an important role in the negotiation process. Filipovski also asked about the next important step Serbia should take as regards European integration.

Dusan Petrovic, Head of the Together for Serbia Parliamentary Group, confirmed that the majority of the MPs are in favour of the road to Europe, adding that his parliamentary group has been supporting the idea for 25 years. Petrovic said that even though it is an opposition party, Together for Serbia supports the Government’s European policy. Petrovic stressed that regional cooperation and regional initiatives are two foreign policy priorities, opining we could be all together in the European Union in the not so distant future.

Nenad Milic, Deputy Head of the Liberal Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, thanked the Commissioner for the opportunity for open dialogue, endorsed the European policy and opined that it is the only way forward for Serbia.

Branko Ruzic, Head of the Socialist Party of Serbia Parliamentary Group, said that the majority of political options in Serbia are truly committed to European integration. Ruzic emphasised the importance of the Brussels Agreement and the role of Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in it. The Head of the Socialist Party of Serbia Parliamentary Group underlined the importance of the Agreement, recognised by the European Union, as well as the importance of the negotiations for which he especially thanked Commissioner Füle and the European Union. Ruzic added that Serbia understands that the road to Europe is riddled with challenges, but that the time it takes to cross it depends on us alone.

Responding to the questions of the parliamentary group heads, Commissioner Füle said that now it is most important that the Parliament sends a clear message to the Government to form a negotiation team and appoint a team leader, adding that the process of “recording” the situation begins in September. Füle encouraged the MPs to take part in the planning and work saying that the Parliament has an immense job ahead of it as it needs to pass a great many laws. The directives, said Füle, need to be transformed into laws that would be beneficial for the citizens of Serbia. The process itself needs to be open for the public and include representatives of civil society, said Füle adding that we ourselves would define the speed of the process that should also be used to strengthen regional cooperation.

As regards chapters 23 and 24 relating to the judiciary, justice, freedom and security, the European Commissioner said that these chapters show the greatest potential for transformation and that the European Union wants to observe how the laws and action plans are implemented.

Responding to the question about territorial integrity and sovereignty and the perspectives for European Union accession, Füle said that globalisation makes countries interdependent, but it is up to the small countries to find ways to cooperate with one another, opining that the longer we remain outside of the European Union the harder it would be to resist the process in which bigger countries realise their interests. As regards the European Union membership, Füle said that it is not such a distant goal and the process quite clearly leads to European Union accession the speed and timeframe of which we shall determine ourselves.

The European Commissioner stressed that the only way to join the European Union it to prove the country’s credibility as one that would strengthen the Union by joining it.

Considering chapter 35, Füle said that it is not a specific chapter related to Kosovo and that it does not, as he said, change the rules of the game. Part of the chapter related to “other issues” will address the attitude to the administration and implementation of the process of normalisation of the relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Füle concluded that the European Union does not intend to force Serbia to do anything outside of the harmonisation process.