Varhelyi tells MEPs Western Balkans are a priority

He said that last week’s summit in Sofia showed that the future of the whole region lies in the European Union and that “it is in our strategic interest to bring the region into the EU as fast as possible”.

According to him, Serbia has a key role to play in that regard. “Not only is the EU Serbia’s most important trade partner, covering around 65% of total trade, with very good dynamics of growth - the EU is also by far the biggest provider of financial assistance to Serbia and also the biggest investor. And Serbia has a clear EU accession perspective, with 16 negotiating chapters opened and two provisionally closed. I believe that Serbia has a unique responsibility in demonstrating that this region is forging ahead on its European path,” he said.

The commissioner said that he finds it very encouraging that the new Serbian government put the reforms linked to EU accession and the continuation of the EU facilitated dialogue with Kosovo as number one and two priorities, next to the fight against the pandemic. “I have confidence that the new government will move ahead decisively on these priorities and will reinvigorate its accession process with the European Union,” he added.

“The Commission is fully committed to supporting Serbia on this path,” Varhelyi said. “The Economic and Investment Plan will support the longer-term socio-economic recovery of the region and its economic convergence with the EU. For Serbia, this means better road and rail connections. This will help Serbia to fully exploit its strategic location in Europe and generate more growth and jobs. The plan also includes a huge environmental program, which will benefit people in numerous Serbian cities, increasing their quality of life very directly,” he said.

Varhelyi warned that boosting investment and economic growth in the Western Balkans will only be possible with a firm commitment and implementation of fundamental reforms.

“On the economy and on Serbia’s alignment with EU legislation, we have seen overall positive developments. Before the crisis, Serbia was performing strongly in economic growth terms. It seems that in Serbia the pandemic affected the economy the least in the region, thanks to the government’s comprehensive financial package for the private sector that has helped mitigate to a large extent the negative effects. Of course we have a decline in productivity and employment, but the country is coping better than the rest of the region with those challenges,” the commissioner said.

He said that the reforms will require a genuine dialogue across the political spectrum and expressed the hope that the government will move forward with reforms quickly.