Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said that Serbia remains deeply committed to European integration and is a reliable partner to Brussels, regardless of the challenges that the European Union is facing, this year, €3 billion of foreign direct investments is expected.
At the sixth plenary session of the National Convention on the EU, Prime Minister Brnabić estimated that these investments show that Serbia is perceived as a stable business environment and that they are a confirmation of the fact that the greatest results have been achieved in economic reforms.
“This year will be a year of enormous challenges for the EU, such as the issue of Brexit and the holding of elections,” the Prime Minister said, adding that this would probably mean less interest in enlargement, but Serbia must nevertheless continue to insist on reforms and their implementation.
Prime Minister pointed out that the most important political issue of Serbia is the relationship with Priština, which, as she said, must be solved for our own sake, and not because someone conditions us to do so.
Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia H.E. Sem Fabrizi stressed that the community will have as a priority the accession of new members.
“I am encouraging Serbia to remain ambitious and dedicated to the European integration, and the EU will do its part,” said Sem Fabrizi.
He assessed that the Balkans is moving towards the EU, adding that he expects this job to continue this year, but also noted that accession to the Union does not happen “overnight”, but the energy of the entire society is needed.
European integration is supported by 55% of Serbian citizens, the Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has said presenting the latest six-month survey of the Ministry of European Integration, conducted according to the Standard Eurobarometer.
Minister Joksimović has said that the survey showed a stable citizens’ support to European integration, given that, last July, the answers to the question “Would you support Serbia’s accession to the EU at the referendum” were almost identical to those received in the December survey.
At a session of the National Convention on the EU, Joksimović said that the survey has shown that 75 per cent of citizens support the reform process in Serbia regardless of the European integration process, which is an improvement compared to the previous survey conducted in July, when the process was supported by 68 per cent of citizens.
Regarding the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, 64 per cent of citizens believe that this issue should be resolved regardless of whether the European Union requires it, which, according to the Minister, shows the maturity of Serbian society.
She also said that this survey shows that citizens want to be more informed about the youth policy, education, social policy, consumer protection, EU funds and specific projects financed from them.