Szijjártó: Year 2025 is a far-off date, Serbia needs to become a member as soon as possible

July 27 2018 | Belgrade

Szijjártó: Year 2025 is a far-off date, Serbia needs to become a member as soon as possible

Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has said today that Hungary supports Serbia in opening all the negotiation chapters for which Serbia is prepared at the technical level, while Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has said that Hungary considers the year 2025 to be a far-off date and that Serbia should become a member of the EU as soon as possible.

At a joint press conference in Belgrade, Minister Joksimović has stated that the relations of the two countries have been substantially improved, to the extent that it can be said that today Hungary is a neighbouring country with which Serbia has excellent relations and understanding on several grounds.

Stating that the main topics of the meeting were related to European integration, Joksimović has said that Serbia has Hungary’s unequivocal support on this issue, and that the Hungarian officials often advocate on behalf of Serbian officials in all important forums of the European Commission and, in a realistic and serious way, promote Serbia as a serious candidate and as a country that deserves to become a member of the EU in the upcoming period.
"We have talked about the trends in international relations which reflect on the European relations as well, which came to a stage that nobody would have expected a few years ago. Therefore, we have to jointly plan our responsible policies and, above all, to lead a well-planned European policy, and I think that Serbia has taken the right stance in this respect, and that it has not once forgotten that the European integration is a foreign policy priority, but that we also have to develop good cooperation with our neighbours and other important actors in the world," Joksimović has said.

Talking about the European path of Serbia, Joksimović has said that the opening of chapters needs to be accelerated, that both bureaucratic and technocratic obstacles that stand on this path need to be overcome, and that it is necessary to move to the stage of opening chapters for which Serbia is prepared at the technical level in order for this process to retain its credibility.
"Hungarian support in this matter means a lot to us, and we expect that, during the Austrian presidency, by the end of the year, we will open all the chapters for which we are ready at this moment," Joksimović has said.

She has added that Serbia and Hungary will, in the future, work together on achieving the goals of sustainable development through Cross-Border Cooperation projects, through which every Serbian and Hungarian citizen will feel the benefits both from the EU membership, in case of Hungary, and from the candidate status, in case of Serbia.

Stating that the Serbian citizens of Hungarian origin are the bridge of cooperation between the two countries, Joksimović has thanked Szijjártó for the fact that Hungary will allocate three times more funds for schools and kindergartens for the Serbian national minority in Hungary in the following year.
"We appreciate this, and it shows the mutual relationship that we have established which implies the highest standards for our people in Hungary, as well as for the members of the Hungarian national minority in Serbia," she has said.

Minister Szijjártó has said that one very important goal of Hungary is to continue to support Serbia on its path to the EU, and that Serbia needs to join the EU as soon as possible.
"The year 2025, which has been set by the European Commission, is a very far-off date for us. Serbia needs to become a member of the EU as soon as possible, and we have a clear proposal in favour of it. By December, several chapters should be opened. There is no point in delaying the opening of chapters," Szijjártó has said.

According to him, Lithuania should give its contribution and opinion regarding the screening for Chapter 31 in Serbia's accession negotiations with the EU, which deals with the Common Security and Defence Policy, in order to continue with the procedure.
"With great respect, we would like to ask the Government of Lithuania to give its contribution in order to complete the chapter on security policy."

Speaking about the policy on national minorities, Szijjártó has said that Serbia's minority policy is exemplary, both for the countries in the region striving towards the EU membership and some countries that are already EU members.

He has said that the Hungarian Parliament has adopted the decision to triple the funds to be allocated for Serbian schools in the following year.
"We will continue with our economic development programme in Vojvodina. We think that this programme has been very efficient so far, from the aspect of Hungary as well as of Serbia. And this has not only contributed to the strengthening of the Hungarian community in Serbia, but it has also helped the European development of Serbia," Szijjártó has said.

Source: Tanjug

 

 

 

 

Састанак министра Ј. Јоксимовић са министром П. Сијартом

 

Састанак министра Ј. Јоксимовић са министром П. Сијартом

 

Састанак министра Ј. Јоксимовић са министром П. Сијартом

 

Састанак министра Ј. Јоксимовић са министром П. Сијартом

 

Састанак министра Ј. Јоксимовић са министром П. Сијартом

 

Састанак министра Ј. Јоксимовић са министром П. Сијартом