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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Most important for Serbia to implement reforms for benefit of its citizens

Belgrade, 15 September 2017

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn today assessed that the date for receiving our country in the EU is important as a framework, but it is most important to implement reforms for the benefit of citizens and Serbia.

At a joint news conference, Brnabic underlined that the government is not discouraged by the announced date of Serbia's admission to the EU in 2025, stressing that European integration is important primarily because of ourselves, our citizens and the economy, and not the EU.

People in the EU are our friends and partners, and everything we do today we do for our sake, she stressed, adding that it would be great to know the date when Serbia will be in the Union, but that it is less important.

I see our path to the EU on three pillars – one is the economic strengthening and the reforms, that is where we have made the most progress in the last three years, the second is the reform of public administration, and the third is the rule of law, in order to have a more efficient judiciary, the Prime Minister stressed.

She said that all these three pillars contribute to better quality of life, and added that no matter what year we should become an EU member, we are doing this to make society more just, public administration more transparent, and to decrease corruption.

According to Brnabic, we do it to have a dynamic economy, business environment that is stable and predictable, as well as in order to support small and medium-sized businesses and have a more efficient judiciary.

Hahn pointed out that in 2025, the date of Serbia’s accession to the EU mentioned by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is not cut in the stone, but something that shows a strong commitment of the EU to the region.

Han emphasised that there had been no previous announcements of accession by 2020, adding that Serbia's accession negotiations are progressing well, although they could be even faster.

What matters is quality, which is more important than speed. If these two things can be harmonised, then it is good, but quality is crucial, said the European Commissioner.