EU welcomes all Western Balkan countries (Barroso)

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said here on Sunday the European Union (EU) is willing to receive all countries of the Western Balkans that wish to become members and promised it will "help Serbia to achieve its European goals".

After meeting Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Barroso talked about progress of Serbia in the implementation of reforms necessary for it to become a member state.

"Despite the economic crisis, our doors will be open to all countries of this region. We stayed committed to helping Serbia to achieve its European goals," the president of the European Commission said at a press conference.

Serbia became an EU candidate in 2012, while in January 2014 the European Council adopted the negotiating framework with Serbia and held the first EUSrbia intergovernmental conference.

Barroso highlithed the efforts the country has been investing so far in fight against corruption, protection of human rights and the reform of the public administration.

Speaking about the on-going negotiations between Serbia and its south province of Kosovo that unilaterally proclaimed independence in 2008, Barroso said that EU wishes to see that the agreements made between the two sides so far get implemented.

"We think that both sides should show responsibility and readiness to apply agreements made so far," he said.

Vucic said at the press conference that Serbia completely stands out from the EU regulations in five areas marked by red color on the paper provided by the European Commission.

"Among the areas in which we proved poor is financial control which is included in the Chapter 32 that we expect to open until the end of the year, as well as Chapters 23 and 24 that deal with judiciary and human rights as well as agriculture and rural development,"he said,

He stressed that the area of environment protection was marked with a specific red color to show that Serbian regulations are nothing similar to European ones.

Vucic said that Serbia is well aware of its responsibilities that include painful "reforms that will not bring wellbeing in three months but will bring it in three years", but that Serbia is deeply committed to staying on the European path and obtaining full membership in the union.

Barroso, whose mandate as the European Commission president is due to expire soon, was welcomed at Belgrade, while in the afternoon he also met Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.
Source: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
30/6/14
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