The European Integrations Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia organised a conference at the National Assembly House on Serbia’s transborder cooperation in the process of European integration. The conference was held with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Office in Belgrade.

In his opening address, the Chairman of the European Integrations Committee Laszlo Varga pointed out that this was the first of many conferences-roundtables on transborder cooperation that aim to present European Union policies and continue the EU promotion project.

The first regional conference on transborder cooperation is to be held in Kanjiza on 22 April this year, Varga said.

Milica Delevic, Director of the European Integration Office, stressed that 2010 would be marked by the efforts to adopt and apply European laws in order to effect political and economic reform. Serbia is preparing to submit its EU candidacy application, and the next step on the road is submitting the EU candidacy application and filling in the questionnaire that will be supplied by the European Commission as soon as the Union members reach a consensus on the acceptance of Serbia’s EU candidacy. She said that preparations for the use of EU funds intended for candidate countries were currently underway, adding that in the preparation of answers to the expected questionnaire, Serbia was using the experience of countries that have already gone through the process. According to her, the National Assembly has adopted more than 50 laws harmonised with European laws so that now it can dedicate more time to monitoring their implementation.

Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia Adriano Martins stressed that EU membership brings economic, social and cultural benefit which is what it wants to convey to the Balkans. He was pleased at the Serbian authorities’ level of cooperation, particularly in the field of transborder cooperation, and announced additional EU assistance for this kind of project.

Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Office in Belgrade Michael Erke said that one of the European Union’s essential principles was allowing free movement of people and goods across borders. He also emphasised the importance of the development of small enterprises, environmental protection and cultural development in the context of developing transborder cooperation.

Coordinator of the European Integration Centre at the Belgrade Open School Vladimir Pavlovic pointed out that EU candidate countries who took part in transborder cooperation projects have realised a considerable economic growth, decreased the unemployment rate and strengthened local self-government. Secretary General of the European Movement in Serbia Maja Bobic announced project Meet your Neighbour – European MP which should be realised in cooperation with the National Assembly.

Ognjen Miric, EU Fund Coordinator from the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for European Organisation, talked about European Union’s regional policy as an economic development incentive, saying that the in the European integration process countries with candidate status receive five to ten times more money from the European funds than those who have no reached that status yet.

The use of pre-accession funds in transborder cooperation programmes and local self-government experiences with a focus on examples of best practice in transborder cooperation were also among the topics.

Deputies, members of the European Integrations Committee Donka Banovic and Natasa Vuckovic and representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy and Regional Development took part in the conference. This type of cooperation was estimated extremely important for Serbia‘s road to the EU.