Minister of Trade and Services Slobodan Milosavljevic stated in Brussels today that he expects Serbia to receive top grades for consumer protection and competitiveness in the upcoming EU report on its progress in this sector.

Following a meeting with European Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy Joaquin Almunia and European Commissioner for Consumer Protection John Dalli, Milosavljevic declared he is grateful for Brussels’ offer to help Serbia achieve further improvement in this field.

He said that at the moment it is crucial for Serbia to achieve good or the best results in all fields in order to ensure that its application for EU candidacy is formally and legally approved as soon as possible and talks on membership launched.

The Minister stressed that his colleagues in Brussels commended Serbia’s Bill on consumer protection, noting that it is fully harmonised with European standards and one of the best laws of its kind in Eastern Europe in the past ten years or so.

Consumers in Serbia will on average have the same level of protection as consumers in the EU, which is a huge step forward, Milosavljevic noted.

Under the draft law, the consumer is the focus of economic and market developments, while the burden of providing evidence has been shifted to dealers and manufacturers, outlined Milosavljevic.

This law, which should adopted by mid-October, makes a decisive step forward in consumer protection, he emphasised.

This will enable Serbia to get the highest possible rating in this year's European progress report, the Minister affirmed.