Von der Leyen: Serbia one of the most advanced candidates for EU membership

BELGRADE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday in Belgrade Serbia was already one of the most advanced countries in the EU accession process and that it had shown it was able to meet the necessary benchmarks.

"You have shown that deeds follow your words. It is in this spirit that we are working together on the opening of the Cluster 3," von der Leyen said at a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

"Europe remains strongly committed to the European future of Serbia," she said.

"The partnership between the European Union and Serbia is getting stronger. As you said already, we are already Serbia's number one trading partner and investor. In this context, I want to congratulate Serbia for having reached for the first time an investment grade level by Standard & Poor's. This is a big achievement," she also said.