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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia meets majority of “road map” criteria

Belgrade, 9 June 2009

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic today stated that Serbia has met a majority of obligations set forth in the proposed road map, thus reaching the final stage of the visa liberalisation process.

Ivica Dacic

In an interview with the Tanjug news agency, Dacic said that the government should now discuss technical problems that may appear when visa restrictions are abolished.

Apart from the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU member states must also support the removal of visa restrictions for Serbian citizens, stressed Dacic.

Minister Dacic announced that he will meet with the German Interior Minister and State Secretary tomorrow, recalling that they have already expressed their support for Serbia’s visa liberalisation.

He noted that he will also meet with the Swedish and Belgian officials in charge of internal affairs, the judiciary and migration early next week. The Minister voiced his belief that he will meet with French officials by the middle of the next month, recalling that he has already discussed Serbia’s visa liberalisation with his Slovenian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Italian, Greek and Spanish counterparts.

There is not a single political precondition set forth by the EU left, only technical ones, particularly concerning security and the prevention of organised crime and terrorism, explained Dacic.

According to Dacic, it is necessary to define the process of visa liberalisation, i.e. what it will encompass in the upcoming period.

He also announced that Serbian citizens will be able to travel to Russia visa free when the Agreement abolishing the visa regime between Serbia and Russia comes into force tomorrow.

The Protocol expanding the list of products covered by the free trade agreement will come into force regarding the customs administration within the next few days, he said and recalled that he had signed this protocol with Russian Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu.

He also announced that in the upcoming days the working groups of the two countries will prepare the next session of the Serbian-Russian joint committee, due to take place in Belgrade in September.

The final goal is to fully liberalise trade between the Russian Federation and Serbia, he said.

The two countries are interested in continuing cooperation and strengthening of economic ties, Dacic said, noting that the two finance ministries will discuss concrete issues relating to investment and the crediting of infrastructure projects and stabilisation of the Serbian budget. He announced that the Russian-Serbian business dialogue will resume on June 26 in Moscow and recalled that he had a series of meetings with Russian officials on his recent visit to Moscow.