"Serbia key country in region" PM's Germany trip "important"

"Serbia key country in region" PM's Germany trip "important"

"This is the first visit of the prime minister since he assumed office in April and it is very important," Wilhelm told Tanjug ahead of the Wednesday talks between Vučić and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He added that Germany is one of Serbia's "closest partners and one of its biggest exchange partners too."

Wilhelm recalled that the exchange between Serbia and Germany has been on the rise over the past years and added that Germany is Serbia's biggest bilateral donor too.

"The two countries' ties are very good but there is always room for their further improvement," Wilhelm said and expressed the belief that the visit will contribute to the strengthening of the ties.

When asked if the German chancellor would insist on "the well-known seven conditions" for Serbia's further progress on its EU path, Wilhelm responded that Serbia has done a lot since the beginning of his mandate two years ago.

"The seven conditions are now a part of the past in a way, as we are very happy that Serbia is now conducting accession talks with the EU," he said. Germany sees Serbia as the key country in the region and it has a clear EU accession perspective, just like other regional countries, Wilhelm noted. Germany wants Serbia to become a part of the EU and Serbia wants to joint the Union which means that the main conditions have already been met, he stated.

"Reforms need to be conducted and the Kosovo issue is connected to the accession process," Wilhelm noted and added that the Brussels agreement needs to be fully implemented.

He noted that Germany maintains the stand according to which an existing conflict "between any two neighboring countries" needs to be resolved before EU accession.

When it comes to Belgrade and Priština, "this means that the process of normalization of relations has to be completed before EU accession," he specified.

One of the main topics of the talks in Berlin on Wednesday will cover economic cooperation, Wilhelm said and added that "the beginning of the talks with the EU is a very important step because it contributes to the establishment of trust among potential investors."