"EU integration key to cooperation in Balkans"

"EU integration key to cooperation in Balkans"

BLED -- EU integration of the Western Balkans has had a crucial influence on improving regional cooperation and settling issues through dialogue, Ivica Dačić says

The Serbian foreign minister took part in the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia.

Dačić addressed a panel on regional cooperation to say that "assurances from Croatia that it would not use open issues to set obstacles on its neighbours' path towards the EU and that it would be among the strongest advocates of EU enlargement were encouraging."

"We are aware that we face a tough period of reforms, but I can also state with pleasure that Serbia has made great progress in many areas, like the battle against corruption and organized crime, judiciary, and improvements to human and minority rights," he noted.

EU integration is the key factor that enabled the success of the talks on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Priština, the foreign minister pointed out.

Full membership in the EU is a priority of the Serbian government, he remarked, adding that the government would try to complete the accession talks by the end of its term in 2018.

"Despite its own problems, the EU needs to show adequate flexibility regarding the unique nature of the Western Balkans and make sure the issue of EU enlargement is not neglected," he said, according to the foreign ministry.