J. Joksimović: Serbia demonstrated in practice that EU is strategic goal

January 19 2022 | Belgrade

J. Joksimović: Serbia demonstrated in practice that EU is strategic goal

Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has spoken today at a seminar titled ‘Is Serbia going to be the 28th member of the European Union?’, stressing that Serbia has made an important step by accepting the new enlargement methodology and that it has made progress in the European integration process, which the EU recognised, approving the opening of cluster 1 – Fundamentals and cluster 4 – Green Agenda and sustainable connectivity.

At the meeting organised by the University of Bordeaux, Joksimović has talked with professors and students, stating that Serbia’s European integration process has been different since the very beginning, compared to other candidate countries, and that Serbia has had political criteria which no other country has had. According to her, this has now been further strengthened by the new methodology which Serbia readily, promptly and actively accepted.

“This means that the accession process cannot continue if there is no progress in the rule of law and in the implementation of the Brussels Agreement between Belgrade and Pristina reached in 2013”, said Joksimović, stressing Pristina’s lack of readiness to implement the agreed.

She has underlined that everything that Serbia has achieved in the last seven years could not have been possible without clear progress which was noted by the European Commission and EU Member States. She has emphasised that Serbia is dedicated to the accession process, stressing that it is the only country that immediately accepted the new methodology, which was initiated by France to make the process more credible, visible and predictable, as well as more beneficial both for the EU and for Serbia and its citizens.

“We accepted the new methodology although we did not exactly know what the rules would be and how they would reflect on our results. We have also achieved a stronger involvement of the Prime Minister and the President, because stronger political steering is precisely one of the priorities of the new methodology. All this resulted in the fact that we now have two opened clusters – cluster 1 on the rule of law, and cluster 4 related to the Green Agenda and sustainable connectivity, which we opened in December at the Intergovernmental Conference”, said Joksimović.

She has added that cluster 3 – Competitiveness and inclusive growth is also ready for opening and that Serbia is intensively working on cluster 5 – Resources, agriculture, cohesion.

Joksimović has said that the topic of EU enlargement has not been popular among EU members in recent years, but that Serbia has taken a clear position that European integration is its strategic goal, which, according to her, it has demonstrated not only with words but also in practice. As an example, she has listed the referendum on the amendment to the Constitution in the area of judiciary, which will contribute to a more independent judiciary, where judges and prosecutors will be chosen without political influence, which, she has recalled, is not the case in all EU countries.

“At a time when independence and competences are being reduced in many countries due to the pandemic, Serbian citizens have shown maturity and commitment to freedoms and democracy”, noted Joksimović.

She has recalled that Serbia advocates regional stability and that it has demonstrated solidarity during the pandemic both with its neighbours and with EU countries, noting that, at the peak of the pandemic in April 2020, at the request of President Aleksandar Vučić, she travelled to Rome and delivered a donation of medical equipment to her Italian counterpart.

“No one demonstrated such solidarity as Serbia did with Italy at that moment, according to the Italians themselves”, said Joksimović, adding that Serbia has also donated Covid vaccines to its neighbours in the region.

She has emphasised that, during the pandemic, Serbia has demonstrated responsibility and commitment to the “European future” not only by demonstrating solidarity but also by accepting the new enlargement methodology, continuing reforms and being determined to implement the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans fast.

“After a century of wars and tragedies, where Serbia as a small country suffered enormous losses for the vision of a freedom-loving Europe, I think that we have shown our strong capacity as a state and a nation that we can build peace and stability with other nations and countries of the Western Balkans”, stated Joksimović.

She has also recalled the ideas of the Charter of Paris that “without a united Europe, from east to west and from north to south, there will be no stability, peace and prosperity in Europe”, expressing her belief that France, during its EU Council presidency, will be the leading country in realising that vision.

“It is no longer only the question of what the EU can do for Serbia, but also how Serbia can contribute to the revitalisation and progress of the European Union”, noted the Minister, answering the questions of professors and students of the University of Bordeaux.

Joksimović has conveyed that France will always have a friend and partner in Serbia, and has expressed her expectations that the economic cooperation between the two countries will also grow stronger, stressing that some of the largest investments in Serbia come from France, including the project of the Belgrade metro construction.

Source: Tanjug