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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

EU supports Serbia's education policy

Brussels, 3 March 2006

Serbian Minister of Education and Sport Slobodan Vuksanovic and EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Training and Multilingualism Jan Figel met last night in Brussels, where Vuksanovic familiarised EU officials with the aims of education reform in Serbia.

Slobodan Vuksanovic

Figel told Vuksanovic that Serbia has the full support of the European Commission regarding its education policy and programme, including the education programme for national minorities.

Vuksanovic pointed out that the EU Commissioner and his associates were especially pleased with the fact that all issues concerning national minorities are being solved in Serbia as an ongoing process and not viewed through an ethnic prism. He added that EU representatives were quite informed about the situation in Serbia.

According to Vuksanovic, one of the more important topics was preparations for the programme of visa facilitation for Serbian students, researchers and teaching staff. Figel invited Vuksanovic to come to Vienna on March 16 and 17 and discuss these matters at the meeting of education and culture ministers and the European twenty-five.

Vuksanovic will meet today with General Director of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Directorate Jonathan Faull to discuss concrete issues related to visa facilitation for certain categories of citizens.

The Minister said he is satisfied with Serbia's cooperation with the European Commission. He said that the number of stipends for Serbian students, as well as the participation of Serbian scientists and researchers in EU programmes, has increased by 40%.

The Bologna Declaration is being successfully implemented in Serbia, said Vuksanovic and recalled that the school curriculum has been reduced by 30%, two new foreign languages introduced and the pre-school curriculum carefully prepared.

The EU Commission praised the fact that high-school teaching staff in Serbia are easily adjusting to concrete economic demands, stressed the minister.

Vuksanovic also met with Hungarian EU Parliament Member Csaba Tabajdi, who invited him and president of the National Council of Hungarian ethnic minority in Vojvodina Laszlo Josza to the EU Parliament. There they could state their policy toward ethnic minorities and illustrate democratic and multiethnic cooperation with an example of everyday life in Vojvodina.

Vuksanovic pointed out that the Serbian Ministry of Education and Sport approved that a Faculty for Teachers with Hungarian as the language of instruction be opened in Subotica. It also gave permission for importing course books from Hungary.

Yesterday in Brussels, Vuksanovic also talked with EU Enlargement Commissioner's advisor Heather Grabbe and Head of Unit Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo Therese Sobieski.