First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic participated today in the conference entitled “CFSP and Serbian Accession to the European Union”. Addressing the Conference participants, Minister Dacic stated that by signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) in 2008, the Republic of Serbia committed itself, on the political level, to progressive alignment of its foreign policy with the EU, which has become Serbia’s legal obligation after SAA entered into force in 2013.

Foreign Minister Dacic underlined that Serbia would fulfil its commitments in the realm of CFSP to the greatest extent possible, honouring the legal framework that it is bound to fully align itself before the date of its accession, and that until that time, it would be raising the level of its alignment while keeping with its own state interests.

“In the context of alignment, it should be borne in mind that over the past years, Serbia’s level of alignment has reached as much as 97%, indicating that Serbia had supported practically all EU decisions, thus unequivocally demonstrating its full commitment to cooperation with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy. A certain slowdown in alignment was noted in 2014, as Serbia decided that it would neither pronounce itself on nor join EU statements and measures concerning Ukraine, including the issue of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation. Although Serbia did not support sanctions against Russia, on several occasions it unequivocally condemned any violence and supported the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In adopting this decision, Serbia was guided by its own economic and political interests and its consistent position not to side with any of the parties, which we considered essential for effectively pursuing our OSCE Chairmanship role in 2015.

Following numerous exchanges of views with our EU partners over the past months, I venture to say that the assessment of the Republic of Serbia to remain neutral in respect of the Ukrainian conflict was good, for it enabled it as OSCE Chair to have unhampered communication with all parties and to contribute to the passing of certain decisions aimed at de-escalating the situation on the ground and stabilizing the circumstances, by strengthening the Special Monitoring Mission which was possible with EU assistance and cooperation”, said the Serbian Foreign Minister.

“This year, our record of aligning with EU decisions on the Common Foreign and Security Policy has improved by 10% vis-à-vis EU Council Decisions or by almost 20% in respect of supporting the EU in other international organizations.
Serbia is making a significant contribution to international peace and security by participating in Common Security and Defence Policy missions. Last year, the Republic of Serbia accepted all invitations by the Higher Representative, to participate in EU operations and missions. As a result, it is currently taking part in four operations and is 7th in Europe and first in the region according to the number of contributed troops, stated Minister Dacic.