The European Integrations Committee Chairman and the members of the European Integrations and Foreign Affairs Committees of the National Assembly met today with the Speaker of the Ukrainian Supreme Rada Volodymir Lytvyn, in a two-day visit to the Republic of Serbia.

European Integrations Committee Chairman Laszlo Varga said that the Western Balkans states have been formally promised a European future, which was not the case with the Eastern Partnership countries, but that Serbia believed that all European countries should become EU members. The visit by the Ukrainian Supreme Rada is invaluable to this end, as Serbia is carefully monitoring the processes in the Eastern Partnership programme which is part of the EU neighbourhood policy. He expressed an expectation that during Poland’s presidency over the EU Ukraine would make progress in its European integration and briefed the Supreme Rada Speaker on Serbia’s activities aimed at meeting the important requisites conditioning the country’s EU membership candidacy, expressing his belief that the European Commission’s opinion on the issue would be positive. Chairman Varga added that the National Assembly was open to parliamentary cooperation with the Supreme Rada both on the level of European integration committees and parliamentary friendship groups.

Supreme Rada Speaker Lytvyn stated that Ukraine was intensively engaged on developing bilateral cooperation and cooperation with EU institutions based on its national interests and the interests of its citizens. He stressed that one of Ukraine’s goals is meeting European standards and harmonizing domestic and European legislation and expressed his expectation that his country would sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and achieve visa liberalization for its citizens during Poland’s presidency over the EU. He deemed the Eastern Partnership programme particularly valuable for the relations between the countries within it and their European partners. This is why Serbia’s experience is significant for Ukraine, particularly on the parliamentary plane, and primarily on the plane of European integrations committees and parliamentary friendship groups, added Lytvyn. He restated his country’s position regarding the non-recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija.

Foreign Affairs Committee member Nada Kolundzija stressed that the parliament had directed its potential towards achieving the country’s main goal – gaining EU candidate status, without neglecting the importance of its cooperation with non-EU countries with which Serbia can find common interests. She thanked Speaker Lytvyn on Ukraine’s principled support of Serbia’s efforts to preserve its territorial integrity. She repeated that Serbia believes that international order should be based on full compliance with international law and it considers any unilateral declaration of territorial independence a violation. She also added that Serbia would not recognise Kosovo’s independence, but would spare no effort to resolve the key problems of the people living on the territory.

Momir Markovic, Foreign Affairs and European Integrations Committee member, restated the position of his Parliamentary Group which did not believe that Serbia’s only road leads to the EU since the member countries participated in the 1999 bombing of Serbia, recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija and because of the Hague Tribunal. He repeated that the SRP Parliamentary Group believes that Serbia should turn towards cooperation with countries such as Russia, China, Ukraine, Belarus as they are countries where Serbia’s economy could find a market.

European Integrations and Foreign Affairs Committee members Zeljko Ivanji, Branko Ruzic, Balint Pasztor and Gordana Comic also took part in the meeting with the Supreme Rada Speaker.