At the invitation of Professor Bodo Hombah, Consul General Branislava Perin gave a lecture on 13 December within "Troubled Balkans" seminar to students of the University of Bonn. In her lecture, she addressed the problems the region is currently facing and what more needs to be done to strengthen cooperation among the regional States, maintain stability and achieve economic progress and prosperity so that the region as a whole could make progress towards full EU membership.

"Undoubtedly, there is no alternative to a European future for the Balkan States. On the other hand, EU can also benefit from the Balkan enlargement and its 20-million strong market which can be a transit route to Asia for many European companies", Consul General Perin said.

Moreover, she highlighted what had been done so far with EU assistance and called upon the EU not to forget, despite the internal problems it is going through, the region to which it is geographically, historically, culturally and economically linked.

Consul General Perin emphasized Serbia's role as a factor of stability and reconciliation in the region and a State that stands ready to discuss all outstanding issues for the sake of a better future of its citizens and others in the region.