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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Balkan region needs stability, mutual respect

Belgrade/Paris, 16 September 2016

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic today gave a lecture themed "The Stability of the Balkans" to students of Sciences Po University in Paris, one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Balkan region needs stability, mutual respect

In his address to the students, Prime Minister Vucic pointed out:

"The Balkans are again becoming an important region for entire Europe. The European Union plays a very important role in the Western Balkans. The European Union is no longer just a dream, but a rational target.

Today the Western Balkans have a lot of potential and the greatest economic growth in Europe. If you analyze the current economic situation in Europe, you will find that in ten years we can catch up with or even surpass some European countries.

People in the Western Balkans are a little tired of the long processes of transition. We need regional stability and mutual respect. That is why we have invested much time and effort to establish regular relations based on reason.

Somewhere we have succeeded, somewhere not. There are still hidden conflicts that continue to smoulder. If you analyze the situation in the Western Balkans, you will see a potential internal instability and possible inter-ethnic conflicts in the future if we do not do our job well.

We need to work on better living standards and a better understanding. We need to inform our public that we cannot survive without each other. I used to think a long time ago, like today some others think, that we are better than the others. Now I know that we must work together, live together, think differently and change our state of mind.

There are some who are ashamed of belonging to the Western Balkan region. Yes, Serbia belongs to that region and we are not ashamed of that. We are proud of this fact.

The European Union is no longer the only cohesive factor that can connect Balkans. We have to do it ourselves now. Yes, we are on our European path, but we need to take care of ourselves. If we understand that, we will have a bright future.

The migrant crisis does not help, it only raises tensions in the Balkans. We were against the wire and walls, and will not rise them. I think that walls and wires belong to the past, not to the future. But we cannot be a parking spot for migrants either. We must cooperate, we have to show humanity, but also to maintain peace and stability in the region.

I am not optimistic. We will do everything to preserve peace and stability, to maintain economic growth, but what I see today are no longer bright stars. The situation in the European Union is very difficult, without a unified message to us.

The global situation is also not simple, and all these difficulties mainly reflect the worst in the Balkans. That is why I called on the leaders of countries in the region to focus on ourselves and try to be somewhere in the top of the European Union in tn years’ time," Prime Minister Vucic said in the conclusion of his presentation at Sciences Po University in Paris.

Vucic today wraps up his visit to France with a meeting with President of the National Assembly Claude Bartolone.