Minister Dacic participates in a Berlin Process ministerial meeting

Full statement by Minister Dacic reads as follows:

„Esteemed Minister Hasani,

Distinguished fellow ministers,

Dear friends,

Allow me to greet you and thank you for the invitation to participate in this event. I would like to congratulate the Republic of Albania and my counterpart Minister Igli Hasani for organizing this ministerial meeting.

Serbia attaches great importance to the "Berlin Process", as a forum that contributes to strengthening regional cooperation, to reconciliation and encouraging regional development, but above all as a catalyst for the European integration process of the Western Balkans, because full membership of the European Union is our key foreign policy priority. In this context, it is important that the issue of enlargement remains high on the agenda of the European Union.

The Republic of Serbia supports the concept of establishing a Common Regional Market in the Western Balkans. Its application will expand opportunities for promoting economic cooperation in the region, which is of immediate benefit to all our citizens. On 28 April this year, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia ratified all three regional agreements signed at the previous "Berlin Process" Summit in Berlin, which entered into force on 21 June 2023 pertaining to our country.

In the period ahead, within the framework of the "Berlin Process", emphasis should be placed on the implementation of the measures adopted so far, while also acknowledging the results in terms of the enhancement of regional cooperation within the autochthonous regional initiatives. The Republic of Serbia will continue to participate constructively in all activities within the "Berlin Process" that accelerate our European integration processes and benefit the region as a whole.

At the same time, just like we mutually agreed to abolish roaming in the region in 2019, the European Union should now make a concrete contribution to reducing roaming prices between the Western Balkans and the European Union. In this context, we welcome the agreed measures, but we hold the view that the dynamics of reducing roaming prices could be more effective.

Esteemed colleagues,

The best proof of our commitment to promoting regional cooperation is the fact that Serbia, together with Albania and North Macedonia, launched the autochthonous regional "Open Balkan" initiative four years ago, initially referred to as "mini-Schengen". The determination and pace at which we approached cooperation in this format speaks more than any words.

Esteemed colleagues,

The Republic of Serbia sees its energy security as an inseparable part of national security and a key prerequisite for continued economic development. We strive to ensure the continuity of energy supplies, but we share the concern about current geopolitical challenges that threaten energy stability. Serbia is vitally interested in the diversification of supply sources, additional investments in energy infrastructure, but also in faster and more efficient development of capacities based on renewable sources of supply. We want to further develop and modernize our energy sector and we cooperate with all relevant factors at the regional and international levels. The developments in Ukraine made us consider with even greater attention all projects that can ensure the diversification of energy sources and a stable supply of energy, primarily natural gas, and especially projects in which Serbia is not the end user, but a country through which transit will take place, it being a gas hub towards other countries in the region.

We welcome the package of EU support to the energy sectors of participants from the Western Balkans, which was announced at the Summit of the European Union and the Western Balkans, on 6 December last year in Tirana, worth one billion euros.

Dear colleagues,

The Republic of Serbia attaches the utmost importance to peace and stability in our region. An essential prerequisite for this is refraining from any moves that could provoke new conflicts. I assure you that Belgrade is making maximum efforts to avoid the trap of engaging in any activities that do not lead to that goal, because we start from the fact that preserving the stability of the region is of the greatest importance.

Finally, I would like to assure you that Belgrade is firmly committed to the development of regional cooperation and making a full contribution to peace and security in our region.

Thank you!“