Djuric at an informal meeting of EU member states foreign ministers

The head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that Serbia's message at today's meeting was very clear:

"For the new Serbian Government, the implementation of the reform agenda by 2027 is one of the absolute priorities, and we want to be fully prepared by then. This pertains to our economy, but also to the rule of law, democracy, and all other aspects that are important for our full membership”, Djuric said.

He stated that the European Union has a lot to gain from the membership of Serbia and other Western Balkan countries, both when it comes to human capital, and when it comes to our tradition, culture, knowledge, security, energy security and many other aspects.

"I believe that the citizens of Serbia have the right and should be granted access to European Union funds because scientists, students, farmers in Serbia should not have a second-class status compared to farmers, scientists and students in any other country. And we are not only interested in being a secondary market or something like that, but we want a full-fledged chair and an equal place at the table", the head of Serbian diplomacy emphasized.

Speaking about Serbia's alignment with the EU's foreign and security policy, Djuric stated that our country will fully share the common policy upon obtaining the status of a full member.

"When it comes to the stance towards the conflict in Ukraine, from the beginning, Serbia supported all the resolutions of the United Nations upholding the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We have specific reasons why our foreign policy on this issue differs from other member countries, but we expect the European Union to help, so that relations in the region are normalized to a sufficient extent and that the general security and geopolitical situation in our region advances in a way that will enable greater alignment in the future", the Minister said.

In addition to the fact that Serbia desires to raise the level of alignment of its foreign policy with EU policy, according to Djuric, Serbia is also seeking help in solving issues from the past for which the current generations in Serbia are not responsible, and which cannot be solved in a fair way without full involvement of the international community.

When it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, Djuric noted that he informed the participants of today's meeting about the violations of the collective rights of our compatriots in Kosovo and Metohija, but also that he clearly spoke about the need to implement the Brussels Agreement in a stricter, more aggressive manner.

In addition to the above, Djuric said that on the fringes of the meeting, he had a very productive conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, with whom he discussed ways to accelerate Serbia's European integration.

He added that he also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of friendly Benin, a country with which Serbia has fostered friendship since the time of the Non-Aligned Movement, while having a high degree of understanding on topics of national importance for our country.

Finally, Djuric welcomed the upcoming Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and assessed that it will give an additional impetus to the European integration of our entire region.

"There are many other countries here, which believe that the Hungarian Presidency will bring a much-needed tone of reconciliation, cooperation and a focus on additional enlargement to European and foreign policy", Djuric concluded.