Serbian officials meet with EP rapporteur

Serbian officials meet with EP rapporteur

According to this "the meeting dealt with the opening of initial chapters in Serbia's EU accession negotiations, problems in the negotiations with Pristina in relation to the establishment of the community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija, and the issue of migrants that is becoming Europe's number one issue."

Vucic and McAllister "also talked about the possibility of holding a referendum in the Serb Republic (RS), and the meeting with the three-member Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina that will be held in Belgrade on Wednesday."

Vucic "informed McAllister about the economic reforms that the Serbian government has been putting in place and the first results of fiscal consolidation."

McAllister "underlined the importance of continuing the dialogue with Pristina, and underlined that the region's stability is important for the region's economic development and the EU integration processes of EU aspirant countries."

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic also received the EP rapporteur and German MEP on Monday, when they discussed "Serbia's European integration, Serbia-EP cooperation and the situation in the region and the world."

Dacic "expressed gratitude to McAllister for his personal contribution to acceleration of Serbia's European integration, especially concerning the support to the opening of first chapters in the accession negotiations and the policy Serbia is conducting in the region," the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

During his official visit to Serbia, McAllister conferred head of the negotiating team in Serbia's EU accession talks Tanja Miscevic.

He also met by leader of the opposition Democratic Party (DS) Bojan Pajtic to discuss "the opening of first chapters in Serbia's EU accession talks."

The party said in a statement that Pajtic "noted the talks are running a year behind schedule due to inefficiency of the Serbian government."

Pajtic "asked McAllister as former prime minister of Lower Saxony to provide assistance in attracting foreign investments because these have dropped by a half compared to the figures recorded three years ago."

The statement noted that he "informed the EP rapporteur about his concern over disrespect of human rights in the country, aggravated functioning of independent institutions and pressures on freedom of the media."