Brussels, 28/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 28 April, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso congratulated Aleksandr Vucic on his appointment as new Serbian prime minister, “at this crucial juncture for the relations between the European Union and Serbia in the first year of accession negotiations”.
“The Serbian people have entrusted you with a clear mandate and great responsibility to pursue, as a central priority of your government, Serbia's integration and the process of reform”, said Barroso in a letter to Vucic.
Barroso stated that he was “confident” that, under the “determined” guidance of Vucic, Serbia will succeed in addressing “the key challenges ahead”, such as “the good functioning of all democratic institutions, the strengthening of the rule of law, and enhancing in practice the respect of all fundamental rights”, He also asked the new prime minister to move ahead in the normalisation of relations with Kosovo and to continue to contribute to the stability of the region and regional cooperation.
Recalling that Serbia faces serious economic difficulties, Barroso stated that the Commission intended to help the country improve its economic governance and carry out the necessary structural reforms to ensure sufficient growth and the competitiveness of the economy.
In Belgrade on Monday 28 April, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton gave assurances that the EU was determined to help and support Serbia in its efforts to establish a strong economy, saying that much work must be done on the economy. Vucic asked for European support for “the difficult economic reforms and courageous measures that we are setting up”. He said that his country was looking forward to concluding a new arrangement with the IMF “at the latest in July”. (CG)