Djuric meets with Koopman

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric met with Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood Gert Jan Koopman in Belgrade on Thursday, noting that it was important to keep the EU enlargement policy one of the priorities of EU institutions and member states and that Serbia remained firmly committed to reforms and the EU path.

EU membership is Serbia's strategic commitment, Djuric said, noting that Serbia continued to carry out reforms in all areas that were important for the accession process, including consistent advancement of rule of law and judicial reforms, the Serbian MFA said in a statement.

He said that, at the beginning of this year, Serbia had established a new negotiating structure and an operating team for the EU accession process, and noted that the move confirmed Serbia's firm commitment to accelerating reforms and making further progress towards EU membership.

Djuric said that, during a recent visit to Belgrade by European Council President Antonio Costa, support for the region's European perspective had been confirmed and that the position that EU enlargement was a geostrategic necessity for Europe had been reiterated.

Speaking about the current situation in Kosovo-Metohija, Djuric said Belgrade remained committed to continuing the dialogue with Pristina once the conditions were in place, and noted that the Serb population in the province had demonstrated unity and responsibility with a high turnout and participation in recent elections.

Regional cooperation remains one of Serbia's key foreign policy priorities, Djuric said, noting that Belgrade was committed to further improvement of bilateral relations in the region.

He said Serbia was striving to develop good-neighbourly relations contributing to concrete results and better regional connectivity, which he noted would ultimately lead to better quality of life for citizens.

In a committed manner, Serbia is also building and advancing its bilateral relations with its European partners, based on mutual respect, dialogue and shared interests, which is an important segment of its European path and integration process, Djuric said.