BELGRADE, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) — Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Thursday said her country was determined to reform and make progress towards European Union (EU) integration for the benefit of Serbian citizens.
Brnabic made the comments when meeting with David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee.
Brnabic told McAllister, who is also the rapporteur of the EU parliament for Serbia, that thanks to successful economic and political reforms, Serbia continued with determination towards full membership in the EU.
“Despite many challenges on the path towards the full membership in the EU, our country continues to implement its internal reforms,” the government release reads.
Brnabic said that the reforms would improve living standards and quality of life in the country, and speed up Serbia’s development.
But progress is not to be measured through European integration alone, but rather “based on the number of jobs that we have created and the advancement of everyday life for our citizens, as well as the environment,” Brnabic said.
Brnabic welcomed the EU’s approach to measure the progress of each candidate country based on their individual merits, and expressed hope that EU members would set a time frame for the accession of new members.
McAllister also met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to discuss Serbia’s EU path.
During the meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, McAllister confirmed EU’s support in the integration process and stressed the importance of the government reforms underway, the foreign ministry stated in a press release.
“Dacic stressed that Serbia will continue to realize the goals of its foreign policy, and that the EU membership is a strategic priority of the government, together with the regional stability,” the release reads.
