Vucic: Serbia to continue to prepare for EU, we expect to open new chapters

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday structural reforms were very important for Serbia and that the country would continue to prepare for EU membership.

At a press conference after a meeting with EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, Vucic said he was certain Serbia would open a third cluster in its EU accession talks by the end of the year and get closer to opening all chapters unless non-alignment with the EU foreign policy was an obstacle.

"That would be a great impetus, a great step forward," Vucic said.

He said Varhelyi had outlined an optimistic plan.

"He expects a Big Bang in the period to come - a major EU enlargement that should involve Serbia. That would be exceptional news for us except that, unfortunately, we have heard that several times, but looking at the geopolitical situation and knowing the seriousness and the responsibility of Mr Varhelyi, I believe he was speaking from his heart and his head as much as he knows and as much as it is possible to predict those developments," Vucic said.

Varhelyi said a new wave of EU enlargement was possible during the five-year term of the next European Commission.