"EU, the sooner the better"

"EU, the sooner the better"

Serbia's strategic goal and priority is membership in the European Union, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said today in Florence, at a gathering dedicated to the situation in the Union.

She added that this is the case for the entire region of the Western Balkans.

"The sooner the better," Brnabic said at the panel "Crisis and Change - European Perspective of the Western Balkans", which was attended by EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

Prime Minister also stated that she hoped that the war in Eastern Europe, in Ukraine, would turn the enlargement process back to focus, and that the members of the Union who opposed it would change their minds and realize that it was a priority for all and that the entry of the Western Balkans into the EU is not enlargement, but "inclusion", because this region is surrounded by the member states of the Union.

"We want the Western Balkans to become a member of the Union and we want to do it quickly. Serbia has invested a lot of time and energy to implement reforms in order to remain a member of the EU, and those reforms are in the interest of the citizens," Brnabic said.

Asked by the panel's moderator, Miroslav Lajcak, whether new developments in the Union, for Serbia and the region, are a challenge or an opportunity, Brnabic said that she hopes they are, in fact, an opportunity, because she is always optimistic, adding that all EU member states commissions, institutions, can see how hard Serbia worked to become a member of the Union.

Brnabic said that the Western Balkans should not be neglected if the door is opened to someone else, regardless of the political situation, because, she says, that would be a big mistake and it would not be fair.

"I can't imagine anyone becoming a member of the EU before the Western Balkans," Brnabic said. She emphasized that EU membership is always a political decision, for which the degree of implemented reforms is not crucial, adding that the decisions on the membership of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia were political.

"If you look at Serbia, the average salary, public debt, fiscal stability, the level of unemployment, the infrastructure, according to all these parameters, Serbia is ready for membership," Brnabic said.

She also said that she understood the Union, when she said that they did not want imported problems, but pointed out that any open issue in the Western Balkans would be easier and faster to resolve if we were part of the European Union and added that Austria is one of the main and loudest countries supporting the enlargement process, and has always sincerely supported the opening of chapters and clusters.

"The European Union is a peace project and we want to be a part of it," Brnabic said. She also stated that the EU cannot constantly postpone some decisions, stating that North Macedonia has changed its name and has not yet opened negotiations. She added that Belgrade has nothing against visa liberalization for Pristina, because even open issues may be easier to resolve, since the dialogue is not going in the right direction now and the real question is whether we have a dialogue at all.

Prime Minister also said that in addition to European integration, the other key thing for Serbia is regional stability and cooperation. Illustrating the importance of cooperation with the Union and the region, she stated that 65% of Serbia's exports go to the EU market, and 17 to the region.

"That is 82 percent of everything that Serbia exports, and it shows how important the Union is to us, and how important the region is to us," Brnabic said.

She also emphasized the importance of the regional initiative "Open Balkans", signed by Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, emphasizing that the invitation to others from the region to join is open.