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Djelic attends Visegrad Group session

Belgrade/Bratislava, 21 November 2008

Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Bozidar Djelic yesterday attended the meeting of the Visegrad Group, which focused on the global financial crisis and building competitiveness.

Dusan Caplovic and Bozidar Djelic

Author: Tanjug

The session gathered top representatives from the Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian and Serbian governments.

The meeting, focusing on suggestions from the Lisbon Strategy, was held at the invitation of Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Dusan Caplovic.

Djelic told Beta news agency that it was thanks to Slovakia that Serbia was invited to this meeting whose members are all EU countries.

He said that the theme of the meeting was how to fight against the global crisis and build competitiveness at the same time.

The whole of central Europe is facing the crisis, he said, giving the example of the car industries in Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and even Serbia.

Djelic recalled that Slovakia and Serbia have one large investor in common, U.S. Steel, with plants in Kosice, Slovakia, and Smederevo, Serbia.

He said that Serbia’s macroeconomic plan was presented at the meeting, including the programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and plans in science and technology, given the fact that Hungary is now seat of the European Institute of Technology and Research, of which Serbia is to become a member.

Djelic also met with top Slovak officials and discussed Slovak experiences on the EU road and ways of using the IPA funds.

Slovakia can give invaluable experience to Serbia given the fact it is experienced in luring funds for developmental projects from the EU, he said.

We agreed that Serbia will get one Slovak advisor who will help us prepare ourselves for IPA funds as Slovakia managed to attract €11 billion from IPA funds in only five years, he said.

This was also the opportunity for Djelic to learn more about Czech plans for its upcoming six-month EU presidency.

Djelic was told that Czech priorities will be the policy of open Europe, which means the Czech Republic will insist on the inclusion of the Western Balkans in the EU.

We got Czech support in getting the EU candidate status as well as inclusion onto the Schengen “white list”, he stressed.

Also, Djelic met yesterday with Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Dusan Caplovic, Head of the Committee for European Affairs in Slovak parliament Milan Urban and State Secretary of the Slovak Interior Ministry Jozef Ducek.