BELGRADE, 7.11.2014. – Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic informed European Parliament rapporteur on Serbia Dacid McAllister on Friday about the reforms the government is implementing. Vucic underscored the importance of economic measures which aim to create a better business environment and attract more foreign investors. McAllister underscored that the EU welcomes and supports Serbia’s EU path and the difficult yet exceptionally important steps implemented by the Serbian government headed by Vucic.
He noted that the new European Commission and European Parliament see a clear perspective for the future of the Western Balkans in the European family of nations, especially for Serbia which is an important factor of political and economic stability in the region. On behalf of the Serbian government, Vucic expressed gratitude to McAllister for the considerable assistance the EU delivered to the country and the aid in removal of the consequences of May floods. The prime minister once more underscored that Serbia’s strategic goal lies in EU membership. A month ago, McAllister assumed office as the rapporteur on Serbia and this is his first official visit to the country. During the day, he will confer with Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic and in the course of his three-day visit in Serbia, he should have meetings with political party leaders and representatives of the civic society.
High level of cooperation between Serbia and EP
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and European Parliament (EP) rapporteur on Serbia David McAllister said after their meeting in Belgrade on Friday that Serbia and EP have reached a high level of cooperation. Dacic congratulated McAllister on his appointment as the new EP rapporteur on Serbia and stressed that Serbia attaches great importance to the cooperation with institutions of the European Union, and EP in particular. He pointed to the significance of Serbian-German cooperation, which was raised to a higher level in all fields, and added that he expects the topic of EU enlargement to be dominant in the newly-constituted EP and the European Commission.
Dacic said that he is looking forward to the cooperation between Serbia and Germany in the OSCE Troika, which comprises the current, preceding and future Chairmanships, stressing that Serbia has become a more credible and predictable partner of Germany and the EU. The EP rapporteur on Serbia voiced hope that the country will soon become an EU member state, and added that he would like to encourage the reform processes in Serbia, not only related to the national legislation and internal matters, but also to the process of reconciliation across the Western Balkans. McAllister said that the European Commission’s report on Serbia will be completed in January 2015, adding that he expects the report to be adopted with strong support in March 2015.
Source: TANJUG
Who is David McAllister?
Regularly described as a protégé of Chancellor Angela Merkel, McAllister comes to the European Parliament with a formidable record in Germany’s regional politics and in the upper echelons of Germany’s centre right CDU. He is a former Ministerpresident of the state of Lower Saxony. Born in Berlin in 1971, he has lived in Germany all his life, but – somewhat unusually in German politics – he does not hide his foreign roots. His father was from Scotland and he can claim dual German and British citizenship. He is often referred to as ‘Mac’ in the German media (http://www.europeanvoice.com/).