"It's largely up to Serbia to set date for EU accession"

"It's largely up to Serbia to set date for EU accession"

According to her, Serbia has achieved "great results in recent years, after opening ten negotiating chapters and closing two provisionally: the reforms are paying off, first and foremost for the citizens of Serbia."

​"President (Aleksandar) Vucic knows – as well as all regional leaders – that it is largely up to Serbia to set the date for accession to the European Union. Membership will come with reforms and with a normalization of ties with Kosovo. We both want Serbia to join the European Union. The Serbian leadership is ambitious, and so are we," said Mogherini.

Regarding the future of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, the EU official said she was "an optimist by nature" and that "a good dose of optimism and determination can only benefit the dialogue."

"This was a very intense year for relations between Belgrade and Pristina: just months ago the situation was tense, but today we face a new and unprecedented opportunity for reconciliation. When there is political will to move forward, there is also room for optimism," Mogherini said.

In that context, she recalled that when she met with presidents Vucic and Thaci in Brussels last week, "we all agreed to start a new phase in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, towards a full normalization of relations, and we all agreed on the importance to implement without delay the agreements reached in the dialogue."

When it comes to the accession process of Western Balkan countries, Mogherini said that the accession criteria are "the same for everyone":

"The pace of reforms depends on each capital and each leadership. The accession criteria are the same for everyone, there are no shortcuts. Our door is always open: it is up to each of the Western Balkans Six to cross the line, and come in."

At the same time, Mogherini observed, "there is a clear link between regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and their path towards the European Union."

"Regional cooperation makes each of the Western Balkans Six stronger: it is in their citizens’ interest, and it can only get the region closer to our Union," she said.

Asked "how high on the EU agenda is the region," she said that "no single day passes without us working on the Balkans or talking to regional leaders."

"We will continue to be the region’s strongest partner – because we believe in the Balkans’ EU perspective, and because we need our cooperation to address our citizens’ needs, from security to economic growth," the EU official said.

Ahead of Thursday's high level meeting of the Berlin Process in Trieste, Italy, she said that the Berlin Process is meant to accompany the Balkans’ path towards the European Union, and is "not a substitute, not a competitor, but on the contrary a facilitator of our common work."

"The European Union will never be complete without the Western Balkans. The region is at the heart of Europe. The peoples of the Western Balkans share and contribute to European culture, history and economy. This region is part of Europe, and it will also be part of the European Union – no doubt about that," said Mogherini.