Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic said today that Serbia welcomes the decision of Belgium, as the country that will hold the EU presidency until the end of the year, to put Serbia’s candidacy on the agenda of the next meeting of the EU Council of Ministers to be held in October.

After the meeting with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, Djelic voiced hope that Serbia’s partnership with the EU will be reflected in the acceptance of Serbia’s candidacy, noting that all necessary technical preparations have been completed.

Once Serbia’s candidacy is accepted, our country will demonstrate its administrative capacity to complete that job in the best and quickest way possible, the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out.

He briefed Fule about the progress Serbia has made recently in the fight against crime and corruption, reform of the judiciary and respect of minority rights, and about the ways in which it faces grave impacts of the economic crisis.

Also, Fule was informed about the successful use of IPA funds and preparations for the upcoming conference on the Danube strategy, whose host will be Serbia.

Fule said that once the European Commission gets the green light to pass opinion on Serbia’s EU candidacy, he will discuss future steps with authorities in Belgrade. He voiced hope that a consensus on Serbia’s candidacy will have been reached by the time the EU Council of Ministers holds its next meeting, which will be in October.

Once the consensus is reached, it will be a matter of days or weeks at the most before the Serbian authorities receive the questionnaire, Fule explained.

Fule and Djelic also discussed the Joint resolution of Serbia and the EU on the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo-Metohija.

Fule assessed that this was a brave step of Serbia’s mission in the UN because the new resolution represents a new beginning not only in relations between the EU and Serbia, but in the realisation of Serbia’s European aspirations as well.

The Deputy Prime Minister addressed the European parliament today on the topic of “Ten Years Later – Serbia on the Path to the EU”. Stefan Fule also addressed the gathering, along with Head of the European parliament’s Delegation for Cooperation with Countries of South-eastern Europe Eduard Kukan.

Djelic said he is very pleased to have been given an opportunity to speak about this topic at the European parliament, noting that the group of Serbia’s friends in this body is growing larger to include more countries and political parties.

He stated that the debate at the European parliament was well-attended because there is huge interest in Serbia in Brussels and a great desire to help Serbia make progress on its EU path and achieve its full potential.

The Deputy Prime Minister will open a “Beautiful Serbia” exhibition of photographs by Dragoljub Zamurovic on the premises of Serbia’s Mission in the EU.