"Context around Serbia's EU integration now more favourable"

He reminded that for ten years Serbia was “lagging behind” regarding the integration process, pointing out that economic and other institutional reforms within the EU, as well as the exit of Great Britain, have opened up the space for new expansion of the Union, including the membership of Serbia.

The economic crisis had practically slowed down the EU integration process to a nearly complete halt, he said.

“On the other hand, Serbia had an entire series of problems which nobody else had,” he said listing the murder of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003, the difficult issue of Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague war-crimes tribunal, the issue of the union with Montenegro and the constantly present issue of Kosovo.

According to his estimate, all of those were “key issues” that had been halting the process for a period of one or more years.