National Assembly Speaker Nebojsa Stefanovic thanked Austria for its support as regards the start date for European Union talks, adding that the Government and Parliament have demonstrated their readiness to meet the criteria necessary to begin the process. Stefanovic stressed that one of the priorities in the last ten months, since the beginning of the Government’s and Assembly majority’s term of office, has been their proved readiness to take decisive action against corruption and organised crime and for the rule of law, adding that Serbia has, not waiting to open the negotiation process itself, already opened chapters 23 and 24 of the European Union talks, which have to do with the rule of law and judiciary reform.
Stefanovic informed the guest about the National Assembly’s activities and the bills before the Parliament, stressing that the National Assembly is currently involved in the preparation of the pre-requisites for the harmonisation process with European Union legislation, where it will play an important role. The National Assembly Speaker also stressed that the laws the Parliament passes, such as the Law on Public Procurement which came into force in April, along with the austerity measures which have just been formulated, should cut the budget deficit to an acceptable level.
The Chairman of the Austrian People’s Party Parliamentary Group, Karlheinz Kopf said that Austria wants to be Serbia’s friend, adding that the country promotes Serbia’s interests in the European Union. Austria is aware, said Kopf, of the importance the start date for European Union talks has for Serbia and will therefore ask for a positive decision considering how much has been achieved. Kopf noted that the Serbian Government has made some difficult decisions and instituted some unpopular measures, but that its popularity is on the rise because it has set an important goal, in conclusion saying that he hopes we can together manage to bring about the beginning of the process of harmonisation and European Union talks.