Sitemap

More...

Japan Donated 165,000 Euros To Municipalities In Southern Serbia

Donation agreements between the Government of Japan...

Comment By Zoran Panović

Year Of Turmoil

Vučić’s influence over political gravity on the...

Branimir Jovanović, Economist At The Vienna Institute For International Economic Studies

The EU And The Western Balkans Still Need Each Other

The importance of the Western Balkans is...

Dr Duško Lopandić Ph.D., Vice President Of The European Movement In Serbia

Third Round Of Euro Integration?

The need to accelerate Ukraine’s EU integration,...

News

55th International Car Show Opened

The International Car Show, 55th in a row, opened in Belgrade and has gathered 250 exhibitors who will present...

Serbia Is Spain’s Main Foreign Trade Partner In The Western Balkans

Serbia is the main foreign trade partner of Spain in the Western Balkans and is responsible for more than...

Đukanović And Milatović In The Second Round Of Presidential Elections In Montenegro

According to preliminary data from the Montenegrin Monitoring Center (CeMI), based on 95.5 per cent of the processed sample,...

In 2022 Norway Earned Five Times More From The Sale Of Oil And Gas

In 2022, Norway earned five times more from the sale of oil and gas compared to previous years, thanks...

Dragan Džajić The New President Of The Football Association Of Serbia

Dragan Džajić, one of the best football players from this area of ​​all time, was elected unanimously, with 78...

H.E. Ms. Anke Konrad, Ambassador Of Germany To Serbia

Germany Stands Ready & Prepared To Support Serbia

I am glad to come to Serbia, a country with which we have been sharing excellent political, economic and cultural relations for many years. Political exchange has been very intensive since the new government in Germany assumed office: Chancellor Olaf Scholz came to Belgrade this year, as well as our foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, and our defence minister, Christine Lambrecht. Moreover, our recently established Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, regularly visits Serbia and the region

Our bilateral economic ties are exceptionally strong. Since the year 2000, more than 600 German companies have invested over 3.7 billion euros in Serbia and created almost 78,000 jobs. The results of this year’s survey conducted by the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce clearly shows that we are on the right track together: 95% of participating companies have confirmed that they would invest in Serbia again. Germany continues to be Serbia’s number one trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of around €6.5 billion in 2021. Germany is also the largest bilateral donor in Serbia: with more than €2.3 billion having been made available for various development projects over the past 22 years, the priority areas being the environment, rule of law and sustainable economic development.

Cultural relations between our countries are also extensive and diverse. German is the second most popular foreign language in Serbian schools, which is also reflected in the high demand for language courses at our Goethe Institute in Belgrade. Moreover, German scholarships remain very popular among Serbian students: the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) offers scholarships for Serbian students who aspire to study in Germany. In addition, Serbian graduates may spend three months doing an internship at the German Bundestag on an IPS scholarship. Young Serbs also have the opportunity to receive vocational training internships at German companies through the Zoran Đinđić Foundation. Just a few days ago, a renowned play performed by the German theatre “Schaubühne” from Berlin opened Belgrade’s legendary BITEF festival. I am convinced that cultural exchange is crucial, as it brings our two countries closer together due to the fact that it extends beyond political issues and addresses citizens directly.

For Germany, it is clear that the future of Serbia and the Western Balkans lies in the European Union. However, the path towards the EU involves challenging political, economic and social transformation processes. There is still a lot of work to be done. For instance, the EU accession process includes finding solutions to bilateral disputes in the region and dedicating additional efforts to reconciliation between neighbours. An important instrument in this regard is the Berlin Process, which involves a series of yearly conferences of Western Balkan countries at which joint projects are launched in the areas of infrastructure, connectivity, security, economic and youth cooperation. Chancellor Scholz will host the next summit in November.

One of the success stories of the Berlin Process is the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO). Young people from the Western Balkans meet regularly, organise study-trips and joint projects and discuss issues that impact all of them. Those young people are the future leaders of the region and I believe that having them work together now is indeed a fantastic investment in a stable and prosperous region.

For Serbia to become a member of the European Union, it is necessary to continue structural reforms, strengthen the rule of law, human rights and media freedom. Concerning the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, EU Special Envoy Miroslav Lajčak enjoys our full support and I hope that both sides will progress in clarifying unresolved issues in a constructive manner. Finally, we expect Serbia to side with the core values of the European Union and align its foreign policy to a higher degree. This includes imposing sanctions on Russia, which has been waging a devastating war against Ukraine since 24th February, in full breach of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

In the years to come, I look forward to continuing the positive trend of our bilateral relations. Germany stands ready and prepared to support Serbia on its path towards European Union membership. I am convinced that we will master the challenges that lie ahead of us and reap the fruits of our joint efforts.