National Assembly Speaker Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic received European Parliament Member Jutta Steinruck, visiting Belgrade at the invitation of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Djukic-Dejanovic and Steinruck held a lecture last night on “What EU membership means for Serbia” for students from Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis, as part of the regular lectures at the University of Social Democracy.

Steinruck told the NARS Speaker that her visit was aimed at gaining as thorough information on Serbia as possible, particularly as she is a member of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo and member of the informal Friends of Serbia group. Steinruck stressed that personal contacts between Serbian and the European parliamentarians are the best way to gain clear insight into Serbia’s motives and results in the European Union accession process.

The EP member was pleased with her visit to Serbia saying that all of her impressions are favourable and that Serbia can find only a very positively disposed partner in the European Parliament. “Serbia bears the burden of all the previous experience of EU member states making the pressure on Serbia all the stronger, but all the steps undertaken for the sake of membership are aimed at a general benefit and the benefit of each individual in the country”, said Steinruck.

The NARS Speaker pointed out that, from friends such as Steinruck, Serbia expects both support and positive criticism which might be of great help to its further steps toward the EU, and that they convey their impressions of Serbia to parliamentarians from other EU countries so that Serbia’s goals might become more feasible, such as Serbia’s EU candidacy and ratification of the SAA with Serbia in the parliaments of member states which have not already done so.