“A significant step forward in Belgrade’s efforts toward for European integration, and an important stage in its definitive re-entry into the common European house”, was Minister for Foreign Affair and International Cooperation Paolo Gentiloni’s response to the opening today in Brussels of the first two chapters (financial capital and relations between Belgrade and Pristina) in the negotiations on Serbia’s EU accession.
“It is clear acknowledgement of the profound and difficult reforms Serbia has undertaken, as well as of the concrete results achieved in its political dialogue with Pristina, regional cooperation and in confronting the migration emergency in a responsible manner”, the Minister continued.
The Serbian government assigns top strategic priority to the European integration process and is now called upon to pursue those prospects with the same determination and continuity.
“Italy has supported these prospects”, Gentiloni concluded, “with conviction and constancy both at bilateral level and in the EU. The Serbian authorities can continue to rely on Italy as a strategic partner and source of concrete assistance in crucial sectors – not least the rule of law – in the subsequent stages of this process”.
