Kurz: Serbia dictates pace of EU path, reforms important

BELGRADE - Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz stated on Wednesday that Austria is interested in reforms in Serbia so that the country could become a member of the EU as soon as possible.

After the talks with officials in Belgrade, Kurz told Tanjug that Serbia's EU accession will depend on the pace of the reforms.

The better the fight against corruption and the faster the progress of rule of law, granted favourable economic progress as well, the easier it would be to close negotiating chapters one by one, which would help Serbia become a member of the EU sooner, Kurz said.

He noted that during the talks with several Serbian officials and with Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in particular, he received assurances that Serbia wishes a clear reform course and concluded that he believes this to be the right path.

From Belgrade, Kurz will travel to Pristina where he will confer with Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci and Foreign Minister Enver Hodzaj on Thursday.

He expressed the hope that the Belgrade-Pristina relations would further improve and underscored that a different scenario would not be useful for the region.

One hundred years after the beginning of World War I and 75 years since the beginning of World War II, it can only be in the best interest of all of us to live in peace and partnership in the EU together, Kurz said.

Photo Tanjug/D. Stankovic