Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has talked today with Austrian Ambassador to Serbia Nikolaus Lutterotti about Serbia’s European integration, bilateral relations, and about matters of importance for regional stability and connectivity.
Joksimović has conveyed the Serbian Government’s expectation that the pace of the negotiation process will be accelerated this year.
“The methodology of EU membership negotiations should contribute to them becoming more efficient and credible”, said Joksimović.
She has stressed her belief that Austria will support the efforts to elaborate the new cluster model of negotiations as soon as possible, adding that Serbia has engaged in a timely, active and constructive dialogue with the European Commission and member states, and that it has been working on adapting the negotiating structures.
Joksimović has emphasised the importance of holding the political Intergovernmental Conference, as an important element of the new negotiating format, where principles of the new methodology would be discussed with the EC and member states at a high political level, as well as key reform plans of the Serbian Government and their realisation, all in context of EU membership negotiations.
In addition, she has expressed her expectation that the significant progress Serbia has so far made in the European integration process will be fully acknowledged and will be the basis for faster advancement through clusters.
Ambassador Lutterotti has stated that Austria strongly advocates the European perspective of the Western Balkans and Serbia, as Austria and the EU’s particularly important partner for the stability and resilience of Europe as a whole.
Lutterotti and Joksimović have agreed that, in the previous year, Serbia has shown that it readily engaged in adopting and implementing key new EU policies for inclusive growth – the Green Deal, digitisation, transport and infrastructural connectivity and sustainable growth.
Joksimović has expressed her gratitude for Austria’s consistent support to Serbia’s European future and its support to key reforms through EU-financed projects realized through the Austrian Development Agency.
Source: Tanjug
