Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on May 23 in Brussels that during its presidency of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (AII) Serbia would focus attention on strengthening good neighborly relations, regional cooperation and the fight against organized crime, as fundamental parts of the region's European integration.

At a meeting of the AII Council of Ministers, at which Serbia assumed its one-year presidency from Montenegro, Jeremic said that strengthening regional cooperation was an inseparable part of the Western Balkans' European perspective and announced that reconciliation was a key part of that process.

Jeremic said that in building a European society, Serbia was focusing efforts on fighting corruption, establishing the rule of law, protecting human and minority rights and ensuring the freedom and independence of the media.

The foreign minister said that more powerful and more coordinated efforts by all member countries were necessary for the fight against organized crime to be successful.

The Adriatic-Ionian Initiative has eight members - Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. It was launched in 2000 to strengthen regional cooperation, especially in the fields of security, stability and environmental protection.