Dacic: EU membership key foreign policy priority for Serbia

BRATISLAVA - Full membership in the EU is the key foreign policy priority for Serbia, and the vision of a common European future is a vision shared by all of us in the Western Balkans, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Friday.

At an annual meeting of foreign ministers of Visegrad Group and Western Balkan states in Bratislava, Dacic said that Serbia is carrying out expedited reforms to achieve the highest European standards in all fields and thereby meet the EU membership criteria.

The Serbian government's plan to end the economic crisis is based on austerity measures, as well as on more substantial budget revenues, mostly through tax collection, Dacic noted.

"Development of the economy - and establishment of sustainable, good governance as a prerequisite for that - is, undoubtedly, among the key issues in the context of the development of the Western Balkan region as a whole," said Dacic, who heads the Serbian delegation attending the Bratislava meeting.

The Serbian foreign minister said that Friday's meeting is another opportunity for a substantial exchange of opinions among Visegrad Group member states and the foreign ministers of Western Balkan states on the current political and economic topics.

Dacic said that he is confident that the exchange of opinions at the Bratislava meeting - in particular the fact that a new regional structure, the Western Balkans Fund, is being established - will contribute to an initiation of a series of regional projects whose implementation will additionally encourage the development of stability and mutual cooperation, including economic progress in the region.

Implementation of successful internal reforms aimed at establishing efficient economic systems...