Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic said today, in Brussels, following the meeting with his Belgian colleague Didier Reynders, that he was confident that the European Council would take a positive decision on accession negotiations, on Friday.
"I heard positive assessments and received assurances that everything will be all right, and Belgium is on our side", said Minister Mrkic, who arrived today on a bilateral visit to the Kingdom of Belgium.
Mrkic said that he had a very cordial and friendly meeting with Reynders, who informed him of the proceedings of yesterday's meeting of the Council of Ministers in Luxembourg, from where the Foreign Ministers of EU Member States sent a recommendation to the European Council that Serbia be given a date for starting the negotiations by January, at the latest.
Mrkic underlined that the representatives of all countries with whom he conversed were committed to Serbia's commencement of negotiations for Serbia's full EU membership.
"When Serbia is concerned, everything boils down to the date issue but, at Friday's Council meeting, we will certainly be granted a timeline for starting the negotiations", said Mrkic.
The Foreign Minister also stated that Serbia and Belgium had excellent relations that have been particularly intensified over the past year.
"We can only commend the results of our today's talks", Mrkic said.