Dacic: As region, we belong to EU system of values

BRUSSELS – Serbia’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said at a donor conference for Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) in Brussels Wednesday that the Balkan region had shown through solidarity and cooperation during the flooding in May that it belonged to the system of values fostered by the European Union and that the misfortune showed how important it was for the entire region to be part of the European system of governance.

“During the terrible natural disaster, the Balkans indeed showed a high degree of solidarity and, in some way, demonstrated what a fundamental regional cooperation really means and also how much the people and governments of the region care about each other,” the Foreign Ministry cited Dacic as saying.

“I strongly believe that we have demonstrated that as a region, we belong to the system of values fostered by the European Union, which we see as the place of our common future, hopefully to come soon,” said Dacic.

“The misfortune, whose consequences we will perhaps be dealing with for years, also shows how important it is that the entire region is part of the European system of governance such as offered by the European Union,” he said.

“The instruments of assistance that we had available, such as the Civil Protection Mechanism and the EU Solidarity Fund, proved to be essential in overcoming the consequences of the natural disaster that we were faced with," Dacic said.

He pointed out that if the European partners showed willingness, Serbia was ready to work together with the European Commission to find ways to use financial assistance from the IPA funds to provide resources that would enable Serbia to conclude an arrangement for a...