Serbian FM: Serbia never moved faster towards EU

Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić said Thursday that Serbia has “never moved faster towards the EU than in 2009”.

Speaking during a humanitarian New Year’s reception organized by the Foreign Ministry, he reiterated that EU membership was one of the Serbian government’s priorities.

Jeremić said he did not expect a change in Serbia’s foreign policy priorities in 2010, adding that he expected the whole Western Balkans region to continue on its path towards the EU.

Defending Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity remains another priority for the government, together with developing friendly relations within the region, Jeremić said.

He remarked that few people had expected the kind of success that the government had achieved regarding the Kosovo issue, adding that the number of countries who recognized Kosovo in 2009 was much less than what had been expected by the advocates of the independence.

Jeremić called the Kosovo hearing before the International Court of Justice the greatest process in that court’s history, thanking all the countries that had supported Serbia’s view that Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence was illegal.

The reception was attended by more than 80 ambassadors, who brought presents for the children at the Belgrade Children’s Hospital.