Austria will assist Serbia's judiciary on EU path

VIENNA - Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic, who is visiting Austria with the Serbian delegation, conferred with Austrian Federal Minister of Justice in Vienna Wolfgang Brandstetter in Vienna on Friday.

Selakovic and his Austrian counterpart reached an agreement concerning the tangible steps toward further intensification between the two countries' judiciaries, especially in terms of Serbia's EU path and negotiating Chapter 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights).

After the meeting, Selakovic told Tanjug that in the time to come, Austria and Serbia would set up direct communication and exchange of experiences in the fight against organised crime, economic crime and corruption.

Having in mind Austria's extensive experience in the fight against organised crime, economic crime and corruption and the fact that the country has a special prosecutor's office in this sector, we agreed that a direct line of communication should be set up in the form of exchange of experiences that will contribute to the improvement of the institutions' work, Selakovic said.

He added that the meeting also covered expert assistance by Austria to Serbia's European integration, especially with regard to Chapter 23 which is in the jurisdiction of the Justice Ministry.

Brandstetter said that Serbia and Austria are trying to intensify their cooperation so as to reinforce Serbia's EU path.

If you look at the development of countries, especially in Central Europe, you will see that what belongs to each other, stays together, Brandstetter said and added that this is the essence and the goal of the EU. This is why I am very happy with the talks, he added.

In the Austrian parliament, the Serbian Justice Ministry...