BRUSSELS – European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is likely to visit Belgrade in October, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic announced on Thursday.
“This might be good news for our country, particularly when it comes to the opening of negotiating chapters with the EU,” Vucic said for Radio and Television of Serbia after a meeting with Juncker in Brussels.
He said that the European Commission president has shown a sincere and open stance, and commended Serbia’s courage in introducing economic reforms, particularly in the time of recession and floods.
Vucic underlined that the reforms that Serbia is implementing are highly valued in Brussels. “They particularly appreciate the fact that we have managed to bring fiscal deficit down and that despite fiscal reforms, we will record growth this year,” the prime minister said.
He said that in Thursday’s talks he highlighted the preservation of regional stability as the only thing that Serbia is worried about, and in this respect called for all kinds of help available to the EU.
The talks with Juncker, as well as the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, show that Serbia has a clear signal from the EU that it is welcome, but that there is still much to be done, the prime minister said.
Vucic said that he and Juncker also discussed the dialogue with Pristina and regional topics, particularly the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.