Address by FDPM and MFA of the Republic of Serbia H.E. Ivica Dačić at the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP)Bucharest, 20 June 2014.

"Mr. Chairman,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like, first of all, to thank our kind hosts for organizing this meeting, as well as for their efforts invested and everything they have done in the past year, during the Romanian SEECP Presidency.
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to attend our today's meeting and to exchange views with colleagues on the latest developments in South-eastern Europe, focusing on regional cooperation as the basis of the European integration process.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The foremost objective of the foreign policy of the Republic of Serbia, its EU membership, remains unchanged. On the path towards the accomplishment of this goal, Serbia has demonstrated its consistence, both by way of implementing its ambitious reform agenda, as well as through its constructive approach to the dialogue with Priština.
In the period ahead, the Republic of Serbia will continue, as in the past, to be fully committed to the European integration processes, as the best way of ensuring security, prosperity and lasting peace in our region. Serbia has demonstrated its resolve, consistence and political readiness to meet all its international obligations. We are aware that a lengthy and complex process, without a political or an economic alternative, is ahead of us. Serbia is plainly a European country that sees its future in the EU.
I would also like to underline the special importance of the joint efforts made by the SEECP Participating States in the light of adopting their positions towards EU institutions, aimed at creating a positive image of the region as a whole and keeping the issues so crucially important to the region as the focus of EU attention. In this context, the role of the countries that have already become EU Member States is of great significance, because they can make a considerable contribution in the process of EU accession and integration of the other countries of the region. This was reflected also in the past six months, during the Greek EU Presidency, which prompts me to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Greece.
I would like to emphasize that the Republic of Serbia has been consistent in its strong commitment to the development of regional cooperation, which is another one of our foreign policy priorities. Serbia demonstrated its support of and contribution to the promotion of the regional cooperation also in 2011 and the first half of 2012, when Belgrade was symbolically the capital of regional cooperation, through its Chairmanships-in-Office of several regional initiatives. The Republic of Serbia attaches particular importance to SEECP because of its highly valuable contribution to the carrying out and continued regional expansion of dialogue at all levels and in all areas. In this context, Serbia has supported the establishment of the Ad hoc Working Group where it actively participates, contributing to the promotion of SEECP activities.
I am very pleased to note that, three years following Serbia's SEECP Presidency, numerous proposals to which Serbia had actively committed itself in its capacity at the time, have seen their successful implementation. In this regard, I particularly wish to underline that it was Serbia's initiative to launch the discussion on the establishment of the SEECP Parliamentary Assembly modelled on parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe (CE) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which was further elaborated during subsequent presidencies, eventually resulting in the holding of the Inaugural Session of the SEECP Parliamentary Assembly here in Bucharest, in May 2014.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to indicate how highly the Republic of Serbia appreciates the role of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in the promotion of the interests and priorities, including the implementation of the project-oriented cooperation in areas of our common and regional interest. We believe that regional cooperation based on specific projects is the best avenue towards the fulfilment of our economic and political priorities. I particularly wish to express my hope that the dynamics of our regional economic cooperation, so crucial to the stability and prosperity of the Western Balkans, will further intensify with the implementation of the RCC Strategy for South-Eastern Europe 2020. This Strategy opens fresh possibilities for the establishment of stronger bonds between our regional initiatives and the European Union and, among other things, facilitates access to the multi-purpose Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) and other interested donors to which Serbia and its institutions extend full support.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would particularly like to thank Romania as the current SEECP Presidency for the recently launched appeal for assistance to flood-affected areas in the Republic of Serbia in which great many human lives were lost and huge damage inflicted. I am grateful to all countries of the region which have helped us in the previous period to overcome the difficulties facing our citizens in this very difficult emergency situation.
Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to wish Albania success when assuming the role of the next SEECP Presidency.
Finally, I would like to point out once again that the Republic of Serbia, by using all of its available capacities, will continue to make its full contribution to the development of the SEECP and other forms of regional cooperation.

Thank you."