Serbia belongs in EU, reforms in citizens' interest

BELGRADE - Serbia should be in the European Union and the reforms introduced by the government of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic are in the interest of the citizens, with or without the EU, former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said.

Barroso said that he is very proud to have headed the Commission at the time the proposal to open the accession talks with Serbia was tabled, adding that the process has begun and that it is going well.

I know that Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has a strong mandate from his people, and I hope that true progress will be achieved on Serbia's path towards the EU - I believe that Serbia should be in the EU, Barroso said in an interview with Tanjug.

Barroso said that he believes that Serbia and the EU will establish much closer ties, but refused to speculate on the timeframe for the country's accession to full membership in the EU.

Progress must now be made in the negotiations and in economic, rule-of-law and state administration reforms in your country, he said.

Asked to comment on the reform efforts, Barroso echoed a position voiced by the European Commission during his tenure as its president.

We acknowledge the progress achieved in several areas - the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, administration reform and regional cooperation, especially with regards to the relations with Pristina, and that is good for Serbia and the region, he said.

However, there are areas where the efforts must continue with great resolve, such as freedom of the press, respect of all principles of the rule of law, as well as some elements of economic reforms, he said.

We have made a positive assessment while encouraging the Serbian...