National Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic said that she was sure this guide would prove extremely useful to the MPs of this and future legislatures as representatives of the citizens who voted for them, as well as the representatives of the media who report about the European integration and representatives of civil society.

“I would like you to speak with the citizens of Serbia and tell them about the role of the European Parliament and its cooperation with the National Assembly so that you could explain to them how much active cooperation between our national parliament and the European Parliament is important on the path to the EU”, Gojkovic told the MPs.

The Speaker was especially grateful to the European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister for comparing Serbia’s European integration with a train whose last stop is Brussels.

“Our message to the European Parliament is that the current legislature will also do all in its power to make that a short as well as a safe and stable drive and I ask Brussels, as the last stop on the road, to get ready for the arrival of the train called Serbia”, concluded the National Assembly Speaker Maja.

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister said that the publication is a precise and understandable illustration of how the European Parliament works. He advised the Serbian MPs to read the guide carefully because the European Parliament is a very important and well-meaning partner to Serbia on its path to the EU.

“We, the MPs should be aware that what qualifies a political system as democratic is an independent parliament whose role is grounded in political reality. The enlargement policy is one of the most important political measures in the EU. Serbia is on path to the EU, but without the Serbian parliament’s input it will not be able to deal with the challenge. I wish that this beautiful country continue with the reforms so that one day we would be able receive Serbian members into our beautiful house, I am truly looking forward to that day”, said McAllister.

Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Serbia Norbert Beckmann-Dierkes and Editor-in-Chief of the European Western Balkans portal Nemanja Todorovic Stiplija also spoke about the publication “European Parliament and Serbia”, published by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Serbia and the Centre for Contemporary Politics.