First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dacic had talks with the Head of EU Delegation

Ahead of his visit to Brussels, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic reiterated that Serbia's membership of the European Union remained our strategic goal, as well as one of our main foreign policy priorities, and also that Serbia remained fully committed to the reform process and the enhancement of all spheres of our society.

Dacic expressed Serbia's readiness to further promote regional cooperation, which directly contributed to the building of mutual trust, the reconciliation process and encouraged overall development on our path to full membership of the EU.

Ambassador Giaufret also encouraged Serbia to continue working actively on regional cooperation and good-neighbourly relations, including solving open bilateral issues with its neighbours. He also emphasized the constructive role played by Serbia in migration management and welcomed Serbia's decision to harmonize its visa regime with the EU, which, along with further reforms in the area of the rule of law, was important for progress on the European path.

Minister Dacic expressed hope that the EU would continue to lend support to the Republic of Serbia in the area of irregular migration, in order to ensure effective functioning of the centres, adequate support and services for migrants, as well as border protection.

Ambassador Giaufret welcomed the formalization of the support that Serbia planned to provide to the energy system of Ukraine through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The two sides discussed alignment with the EU's common foreign and security policy.

Bearing in mind the importance of the partnership between Serbia and the EU, Ambassador Giaufret suggested intensifying the promotion of positive and mutually beneficial projects and activities in the public and media spheres.

The interlocutors also agreed that the intensification of direct communication and more frequent meetings between Serbian officials and representatives of Brussels would give an additional impetus to progress in Serbia's European integration, and in this context expressed hope that the visit of Serbian Foreign Minister Dacic to Brussels next week would yield positive results.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and agreed that the continuation of the dialogue was the only and right path to reaching a sustainable agreement.