Macut, von Beckerath discuss stability of academic community, Serbia-EU cooperation

BELGRADE - At his own initiative, Serbian PM Djuro Macut held an urgent meeting with the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Andreas von Beckerath on Tuesday to discuss the key issues of stability in the academic community and advancement of cooperation with EU institutions.

Ensuring an equal relationship and balanced representation of the academic community outside of Serbia was the chief topic of the meeting, a government statement said.

The parties also highlighted a need to raise the cultural level of media dialogue as well as to reduce tensions in the public.

They reviewed and analysed the steps made in implementation of the Reform Agenda, to which the Government of Serbia is fully committed with a view to achieving the set objectives, in spite of the fact that, in some areas, they are not defined in the most realistic manner, the statement also said.

Macut noted a need to harmonise the representation of the academic community, and noted that any appearances on its behalf required a harmonised platform of all its representatives in Serbia to avoid further politicisation and polarisation.

Macut also noted that this approach was crucial and necessary for preserving hard-won stability in the academic community following a period in 2025 during which the work of all state academic institutions had been blocked.

Thanking von Beckerath for honouring an urgent invitation to the meeting, Macut said regular discussions with representatives of the EU Delegation to Serbia as well as European Commission officials would be continued as continuous dialogue was key for resolving outstanding issues and for further progress in all areas.