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Belgium supports removal of visa restrictions for Serbia
Belgrade/Brussels,
15 June 2009
Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic, Belgian Interior Minister Guido De Padt and Belgian Immigration and Asylum Minister Annemie Turtelboom signed a memorandum of understanding in Brussels today.
In a statement to Beta news agency, Dacic said that it is very positive that the Belgian ministries of interior and immigration fully support the removal of visa restrictions for Serbian citizens and that they are offering Serbia help to fulfill any remaining conditions from the roadmap for visa liberalisation.
He said that it was agreed that representatives of the Belgian Immigration and Asylum Ministry, which is Belgium’s decision-making body when it comes to the issue of visa liberalisation for Serbia, will visit Belgrade in order to verify Serbia’s progress.
Speaking about the memorandum signed today, Dacic said that it concerns preparations for signing the police cooperation agreement, which will be finalised within the next few months.
He said that the memorandum envisages better cooperation between the two countries in the fights against organised crime and terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, human trafficking, money laundering, credit card forgery, etc.
The Minister noted that the two sides agreed to work on promoting the exchange of information regarding criminal groups, adding that the Serbian and Belgian police will soon organise joint training.
As soon as an agreement on police cooperation between Serbia and Belgium is drafted, the Belgian Interior Minister will visit Belgrade, where the agreement will be signed, said Dacic.
Minister Dacic will visit Sweden tomorrow, where he will meet with Swedish Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström, Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Frank Belfrage and Deputy Director of the Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation (SIDA).
The visit to Sweden is of great importance bearing in mind that Minister Billström is to take over the presidency of the EU Council of Justice and Interior Ministers, which will make a final decision concerning the abolition of visa restrictions for Serbian citizens by the end of this year, stressed Dacic.
He said that it was agreed that representatives of the Belgian Immigration and Asylum Ministry, which is Belgium’s decision-making body when it comes to the issue of visa liberalisation for Serbia, will visit Belgrade in order to verify Serbia’s progress.
Speaking about the memorandum signed today, Dacic said that it concerns preparations for signing the police cooperation agreement, which will be finalised within the next few months.
He said that the memorandum envisages better cooperation between the two countries in the fights against organised crime and terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, human trafficking, money laundering, credit card forgery, etc.
The Minister noted that the two sides agreed to work on promoting the exchange of information regarding criminal groups, adding that the Serbian and Belgian police will soon organise joint training.
As soon as an agreement on police cooperation between Serbia and Belgium is drafted, the Belgian Interior Minister will visit Belgrade, where the agreement will be signed, said Dacic.
Minister Dacic will visit Sweden tomorrow, where he will meet with Swedish Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström, Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Frank Belfrage and Deputy Director of the Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation (SIDA).
The visit to Sweden is of great importance bearing in mind that Minister Billström is to take over the presidency of the EU Council of Justice and Interior Ministers, which will make a final decision concerning the abolition of visa restrictions for Serbian citizens by the end of this year, stressed Dacic.
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