There will be no additional conditions for Serbia on its EU course except those defined by the EU Council early this year – continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and social and state reforms, Serbian PM Ivica Dačić and Italian Foreign Minister Giuliano Terzi said in talks in Belgrade. More from Sandra Pekić.
Dačić said EU integrations remained a priority for the Serbian government and that talks on EU accession should be commenced as soon as possible. It is for its own sake and not for the EU’s sake that Serbia will realize the reforms required for EU membership, he said. Belgrade will also be conducting a policy aimed at peace and stability in the region, including talks with Pristina, he said. He said there had been no discussion about the level at which the dialogue will resume and that the date of the new round of the talks would be discussed as of September.
Italian Foreign Minister Giuliano Terzi said Italy firmly supported Serbia on its EU course. His visit to Belgrade has been the first visit of a foreign diplomat ever since the new Serbian government was formed, which confirms the traditionally good and strong bilateral relations with Italy. He said that the moment Nikolic was elected president and the new government was formed Italy had shown it wanted to stand by Serbia as its strategic partnership with Serbia is very important.
Terzi also said that, on the EU integrations course, it was necessary that Serbia should continue reforms and dialogue with Pristina. Asked if Italy supports UN participation in that dialogue, Terzi said that the decision should be made by the UN secretary general as UN forces have mostly withdrawn from the field.
Speaking of bilateral economic cooperation, Serbian PM Ivica Dačić jsaid that Italy was the third foreign trade partner of Serbia and that there were 400 Italian companies, including Fiat and Beneton, doing business in Serbia. He added that the Serbian Parliament should soon ratify energy agreements on the basis of which important Italian investments are expected. Terzi and Dacic agreed that good bilateral economic and political cooperation should be continued and deepened further in the fields of culture and science.