Prime Minister Ana Brnabic met today, on the eve of the Summit of EU and Western Balkan leaders in Brussels, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Olivér Várhelyi.
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Continuation of reforms, partnership with EU
Belgrade/Brussels,
13 December 2023
In a statement to the Tanjug agency, Brnabic said that she expressed her gratitude to Orbán for all the support that Hungary provides to Serbia on its European journey, while with Várhelyi she discussed his next visit to Serbia and what our country needs to do by the end of January.
It is good that there is an EU-Western Balkans Summit because, in addition to the European political community, it is a new format in which we from the Western Balkans can always talk openly, honestly and completely transparently with EU leaders, she said.
The Prime Minister pointed out that she expects good results and discussions about the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans from today's summit.
According to her, it is an opportunity for the countries of the Western Balkans to receive additional funds of some €6 billion, of which €4 billion would be in loans, and €2 billion in grants.
Brnabic explained that, as always, it will be in partnership and cooperation with the European Union, conditioned by some reforms.
Serbia does not run away from reforms and we believe that they are in the interest of our citizens and economy. We will continue to deal with reforms and remain committed to the rule of law, the Prime Minister said.
She reminded that Serbia received a good report from the EU Council on its efforts in the fight against corruption, where it was stated that we have fully fulfilled 10 of the 13 recommendations of GRECO, while we are still working on three.
Also, as she noted, Serbia has fully agreed with the European Commission on all open issues within the national strategy for the fight against corruption, which we should receive by the end of January.
The Prime Minister said that the fact that we completed the gas interconnector to Bulgaria on 10 December is excellent news for our energy diversification.
On that occasion, she expressed her gratitude to the EU partners who financially supported this project through the European Investment Bank and through grants through the Investment Framework for the Western Balkans.
Therefore at this summit, I have good news and results regarding cooperation between Serbia and the EU, Brnabic concluded.
The Prime Minister also met today in Brussels with President of France Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
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