Djuric: No decision on suspension of EU funds for Serbia

BRUSSELS - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Monday in Brussels allegations that Serbia was not receiving money from EU development funds due to a decision by the EU were sheer political manipulation unsupported by facts.

Speaking to reporters after an informal meeting of EU and Western Balkan FMs, Djuric said a statement by EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had confirmed there was no formal EU decision to withhold Growth Plan funds from Serbia, and noted that reports that the funds had been frozen had been a part of political pressure and manipulation. He said there was "a bit of political games" in the public communication on EU funds and that the objective was to put Serbia under pressure over internal political affairs, but noted that the key fact remained - that there was no EU decision denying economic or development support to Serbia.

Serbia is working hard on implementation of reforms as well as all political, technical and organisational steps necessary for full support from EU funds, Djuric said, adding that any delays were chiefly a result of political assessments, and not a lack of results by Serbia.

Serbia does not deserve to be treated like a "black sheep" because it is the front-runner in the adoption of legislative and institutional measures in the EU integration process, he said.

Djuric: We want EU to include Serbia in Schengen area as soon as possible

BRUSSELS - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Monday in Brussels Serbia's key message at an informal meeting of EU and Western Balkan FMs, held before an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, had been that the EU should accelerate the integration process and open the Schengen area to the Balkan region as soon as possible.

"It is frustrating that we have hard borders every 150-200 km, which literally interrupts flows and the life of people and families, as well as economies, tourism and everything else, and there is no reason for Europe not to make it possible, as early as this summer, to unlock the full potential of the inclusion of our region into Schengen," Djuric told reporters in Brussels.

He said unleashing the full potential of Schengen in the region would directly lead to 50 bln euros' worth of new economic activities without eroding the security of the EU and the entire continent.

"It would defuse tensions in our region and it would be very useful," he said, adding that Serbia also supported a swift inclusion of the region into the common economic area.

He added that Serbia's message had also been that, due to rapid global changes, countries that were still not in the EU should be admitted as members as soon as possible.

Djuric said some of the FMs in attendance had reacted positively and supported the positions, and noted that, overall, the tone of the debate had been decent and respectful to Serbia.

"I hope our EU integration will continue to make progress, regardless of all the ideologically- and sometimes politically-motivated pressure from certain centres that our country often faces," he said.

He noted that, among non-EU member states, Serbia stood out economically, demographically and geopolitically as a country that accounted for 53 pct of the regional economy and as the fastest-growing economy in the region for more than a decade.

Djuric added that he had also spoken about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the meeting in an attempt to protect Serbian interests from those who wanted to portray Republika Srpska as the sole or the main culprit for the difficult internal relations within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Serbia has always been on the side of stability, and has always been - and remains - on the side of the Dayton Agreement. Serbia holds the firmest possible position that the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina - and no external actors - should be the ones to decide on the destiny of that country."

"I would like to reiterate that, over the past three decades, Serbia had demonstrated how much it was contributing to normalisation of relations, preventing, in a way, things from getting out of control, at least when it comes to things we have an influence on," Djuric said.

He said other outstanding regional issues and the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue had been addressed as well and that he had noted that the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo-Metohija had been more than a decade overdue.

Djuric attends informal breakfast of EU and Western Balkan FMs

BRUSSELS - Serbian FM Marko Djuric, who is visiting Brussels, attended on Monday an informal breakfast hosted for EU and Western Balkan FMs by EU foreign policy and security chief Kaja Kallas.

While in Brussels, Djuric will have several bilateral meetings.

The meeting, which addressed relations in the Western Balkans, was held before a session of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.