Ambassador Ana Ilić participated in the New Year reception organized by the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Ambassador Ana Ilić met with the President of the Parliament of Portugal, Augusta Santuš Silva. During the courtesy meeting, the conversation was held about the bilateral relations between Serbia and Portugal, with expressed willingness to strengthen parliamentary cooperation. 

“This year, Serbia and Portugal are celebrating 140 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which is a good opportunity to agree on a series of activities so as to work on the further improvement of relations between our two countries”, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačic, who met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, João Gomes Cravinho today.
"I believe that this visit is very important and that it opens up space for the intensification of our political relations," Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačic told the reporters after the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belgrade.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačic stated that Portugal was our friendly country and that we had no unresolved, disputed bilateral issues. He added that he was grateful for the support that Portugal provided to the integration of Serbia with the EU.

"We want the intensity of our mutual visits to be as high as possible, because such visits are always welcome as an impulse to the development of our cooperation. Our two ministries will certainly continue with the high-quality and particular cooperation through the political consultations we will hold", Ivica Dačić highlighted.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić noted that the economic relations between Serbia and Portugal were still at the level at which they could be, nevertheless he added that for the first time this year, the foreign trade exchange between the two countries would exceed one hundred million euros.

"This is a good and historically, perhaps, the most significant result, but is certainly less compared to what we could do regardless of the fact that we are geographically distant and that we may have different foreign policy priorities when it comes to some regions"  Ivica Dačić pointed out.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal João Gomes Cravinho highlighted that he expected his visit to Serbia to mark the beginning of the intensification of relations between the two countries in various fields.

"I especially wanted to come here this year, because we are celebrating 140 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations," João Gomes Cravinho stressed and added that Portugal and Serbia were different but that there was a continuity in the relations between our peoples and that this should be celebrated.

He stated that there was not enough intensity in the relations between the two countries and agreed with Minister Dačić that it was good that the foreign trade exchange would exceed one hundred million euros, but that we could do even better.

"We are going through various transformations very quickly and energy and digital transformation offer new opportunities for our companies and public administrations. In Portugal, both of these areas are progressing very fast and we see them as areas where Serbia and Portugal can cooperate," João Gomes Cravinho noted.

He pointed out that Portugal supported the process of EU integration of Serbia and other countries of the Western Balkans.

"We understand all the problems that exist here and we support the dialogue and the mechanisms that can be found to promote faster integrations", João Gomes Cravinho explained.

***

Ambassador Ana Ilic participated, at the invitation of the President of the Republic, at the Palace of Belém, at lunch with other representatives of the Association of Ambassadors in Lisbon (AWA - Association of Women Ambassadors).

***

On the initiative of the Association of Women Ambassadors in Portugal (AWA), some diplomats met with the President of the Municipality of Lisbon Carlos Moedas and the NGO Soroptimist in order to jointly advocate for the elimination of violence against women- https://www.dn.pt/opiniao/juntos-pela-eliminacao-da-violencia-contra-a-mulher-15387460.html . 

***

At the ceremony held in the presidential palace in Belem, the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Portugal, Ana Ilić, presented the Letters of Credence to the President of the Republic of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo da Sousa.

***

Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Bilateral Cooperation Ambassador Vladimir Marić visited the Republic of Cabo Verde on September 13 and 14 to hold political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries.

On that occasion, a courtesy meeting was held with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cabo Verde, Rui Alberto de Figueiredo Soaresto whom the Assistant Minister Marić handed a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, and conveyed an invitation to visit the Republic of Serbia as soon as possible.

Ambassador Marić thanked Minister Figueiredo Suarez for the Cabo Verde’s support to Serbia regarding Kosovo and Metohija and for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country.

The Cabo Verde’s delegation was led by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Miryan Vieira. She was given a draft Memorandum on Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture.

In a cordial conversation, it was jointly stated that there are significant potentials for improving bilateral relations and cooperation in areas of common interest, such as economy, exchange of experience in the field of trade and investment, agriculture, culture, and education.

The colleagues discussed topics of global importance, and the Assistant Minister Marić informed them about the current situation in the Western Balkans, emphasising the key role of Serbia in preserving peace and stability in our region.

During his visit to Cabo Verde, the Assistant Minister Marić had a meeting with the Minister of Youth and Sports of Cabo Verde, Carlos Do Canto Monteiro, with whom he discussed in detail the possibilities of cooperation in that area.

Bojana Didic, charge d affaires a.i. was in the delegation of the Assistant Minister Vladimir Marić. 

***

Bojana Didić, Charge d Affaires a.i. visited a photography exhibition ,Belgrade Concrete' by the Portuguese artist Inês d'Orey. On this occassion, we thanked Ana Matos, artistic director of Galeria das Salgadeiras in Lisbon for the invitation. 

*** 

Bojana Didić, charge d affairs a.i. attended, on 30th July, concert "Amaia" by Orchestra XXI by the invitation of His Excellency the President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa within the International Music Festival Marvao 2022.

11. May 2022.

Today, in Marrakesh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Minister Selaković said that Serbia was committed to the multilateral aspect of the fight against terrorism, adding that he firmly believed the United Nations should be the key forum for international cooperation in this field.

02 March 2022.

Minister Selaković informed the ambassadors present about the Conclusion of the National Security Council, which was adopted by the Government of Serbia on February 27 - regarding the situation in Ukraine.

The Serbian Foreign Minister said that Serbia deems the outbreak of the crisis and conflict in Ukraine deeply regretful, emphasizing that Serbia considers it very wrong to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty of any state, as in the case of Ukraine. In this regard, Foreign Minister Selaković reiterated that Serbia very clearly insists on the respect for the principles of international law, pointing out that this is the foundation of the Serbian foreign policy.

FM Selaković underscored that Serbia gives fully supports the negotiations between the two sides and all credible international efforts to find a peaceful and political solution to the crisis in Ukraine.

Mr. Selaković pointed out that Serbia will continue to consistently maintain peace and stability in Southeast Europe in these challenging times, emphasizing that modern challenges also show that all disagreements on our continent must be resolved by peaceful means and dialogue.

***

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that our distinguished colleague, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Portugal, Oliver Antić, died in Lisbon as a result of an accident today.

We will remember him as an excellent professor, great patriot and a man of superior legal mind and sharp writing skills.

He will be remembered for his professionalism and dedication as the Ambassador of our country to Portugal, as well as his contribution to the improvement of relations between Serbia and Portugal.

The Ministry shares the pain of family, friends and colleagues of Ambassador Antić.

On Tuesday, 22 February, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Book of Condolence will be opened in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Kneza Miloša 24 (the main entrance at the Corner with Nemanjina St.). The online Book of Condolence will be opened at: protokol@mfa.rs.

Information on the date of memorial service and funeral will be announced at a later date.

***

Ambassador Oliver Antic published an article in DN on the occasion of 140 years of establishing the diplomatic relation between Portugal and Serbia on 14 of February 2022. The article can be found here.

***

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković stated today that his official visit to the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe was an opportunity to continue and deepen the political dialogue between the two friendly countries.

Noting that São Tomé and Príncipe was the first country to withdraw its recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Kosovo, Minister Selaković said that this year’s 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations was an excellent opportunity to further intensify the cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Selaković added that he had engaged in productive discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs of São Tomé and Príncipe Edite Ramos da Costa Ten Jua and Prime Minister Jorge Bom Jesus. The discussion was, among other matters, about the ways to help eliminate the consequences of floods that had affected São Tomé and Príncipe this year.

Emphasising that São Tomé and Príncipe’s economy is based on agriculture, fishery and tourism, Minister Selaković highlighted, as something very important for the future cooperation between the two countries, the fact that one of the intergovernmental agreements signed today was an agricultural cooperation agreement.

According to Minister Selaković, the hosts expressed great interest in scholarships under the project “World in Serbia”. He stressed that Serbia would increase the number of scholarships for students from São Tomé and Príncipe.

Minister Selaković stated that he hoped that Serbia would have its first honorary consul in São Tomé and Príncipe by the end of spring. The person in question is a former student of the Belgrade University on a scholarship awarded to him by our country.

At a prior press conference, Minister Selaković had highlighted the historical significance of the visit, as this was the first time that a senior official from Serbia had visited São Tomé and Príncipe.

After also visiting Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, Minister Selaković will conclude his multi-day tour of Central African countries on Monday, with an official visit to Cameroon.

***

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković stated today that his official visit to the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe was an opportunity to continue and deepen the political dialogue between the two friendly countries.

Noting that São Tomé and Príncipe was the first country to withdraw its recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Kosovo, Minister Selaković said that this year’s 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations was an excellent opportunity to further intensify the cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Selaković added that he had engaged in productive discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs of São Tomé and Príncipe Edite Ramos da Costa Ten Jua and Prime Minister Jorge Bom Jesus. The discussion was, among other matters, about the ways to help eliminate the consequences of floods that had affected São Tomé and Príncipe this year.

Emphasising that São Tomé and Príncipe’s economy is based on agriculture, fishery and tourism, Minister Selaković highlighted, as something very important for the future cooperation between the two countries, the fact that one of the intergovernmental agreements signed today was an agricultural cooperation agreement.

According to Minister Selaković, the hosts expressed great interest in scholarships under the project “World in Serbia”. He stressed that Serbia would increase the number of scholarships for students from São Tomé and Príncipe.

Minister Selaković stated that he hoped that Serbia would have its first honorary consul in São Tomé and Príncipe by the end of spring. The person in question is a former student of the Belgrade University on a scholarship awarded to him by our country.

At a prior press conference, Minister Selaković had highlighted the historical significance of the visit, as this was the first time that a senior official from Serbia had visited São Tomé and Príncipe.

After also visiting Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, Minister Selaković will conclude his multi-day tour of Central African countries on Monday, with an official visit to Cameroon.

***

12 February 2022

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković met today with the Prime Minister of Sao Tome and Principe Jorge Bom Jesus and conveyed him an invitation to visit Belgrade this year, on the occasion of marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries.

Noting that the two countries provide mutual support for each other on the world stage, Selaković pointed out that Sao Tome and Principe's support in terms of preserving territorial integrity and sovereignty was of great importance for Serbia.

“We are very grateful for this support which represents an excellent prerequisite and potential to intensify our cooperation,” said Minister Selaković. Minister Selaković informed his interlocutor that this year we provided four scholarships for students from Sao Tome and Principe as part of the “World in Serbia” Programme, and invited a delegation of this country to participate in the upcoming Belgrade International Tourism Fair. Prime Minister of Sao Tome and Principe thanked Minister Selaković for coming on an official visit and expressed confidence that the two countries, which had been linked for decades, would have the opportunity to renew cooperation.

***

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković met today, as part of his several-day official visit to the countries of Central Africa, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities of Sao Tome and Principe Edite Tenjua.

At the press conference held after the meeting, Minister Selaković stated that the visit was of historical significance, since it was the first time a Serbian Foreign Minister was visiting Sao Tome and Principe, in the year when our two countries were celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationships.

“Our two friendly countries have very good relations, without any open issues. Sao Tome and Principe is our partner country and this partnership and friendship are reflected in the support of your country on issues of the highest importance for Serbia. It is the support that your country provides to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia in connection with our southern province of Kosovo and Metohija,” Minister Selaković said. According to him, the agreements signed today - Memorandum of Understanding between the two Foreign Ministries on political consultations and Memorandum on cooperation between the Ministries of Agriculture - will encourage cooperation between the two countries in the forthcoming years.

As noted by Minister Selaković, today's visit was a valuable opportunity for meaningful talks and for defining the fields in which deepening of bilateral cooperation would be possible. “We are talking about how to help our friends, how many scholarships we can provide to your students for education in Serbia and how to help you in mitigating the consequences of the floods that hit the country this year. We are also discussing cooperation at the multilateral level within various international organisations,” he said. Minister Selaković expressed special gratitude to Minister Tenjua for accepting the invitation and participating in the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Belgrade last year. Minister Tenjua emphasised the importance of today's meeting in light of the challenges the two countries are facing and the need for solidarity in resolving such challenges. She said that the two countries had a wholehearted desire and intention to strengthen the friendship and raise it to a higher level.

“The friendship between our two peoples has its roots in the past, and they are strong and deep enough to represent good basis for future cooperation,” Minister Tenjua said. She emphasised the importance of the agreements signed today, noting that there was a high agreement between the two countries on many international topics. “I am convinced that we will continue to discover good ways for our peoples to benefit from the friendship between our two countries,” said Minister Tenjua.

***

7 February 2022

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic attended today in Geneva the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Serbia, the first of its kind in the Western Balkans.

The agreement was signed at the headquarters of that forum by Director of the Office for Information Technologies and eGovernment Mihailo Jovanovic and Managing Director and Head of the Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Jeremy Jurgens.

The centre in Serbia will be the 16th in the network of centres of the World Economic Forum in the world and the first in the region of the Western Balkans.

The new centre will start operating on 1 March and will function as a non-profit organisation and a platform for public-private partnership and cooperation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while the focus of work will be on artificial intelligence and bioengineering.

This centre will work within the Serbian government’s Office for Information Technologies and eGovernment and will cooperate with scientific institutes, state institutions and the private sector.

The signing of this document was also attended by founder and Executive Director of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab and President of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende, with whom Brnabic had previously met.

Addressing the press, Brnabic pointed out that this agreement is the result of many years of joint work between Serbia and the World Economic Forum.

We started talking in 2018, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, then 2020 hampered us a bit, but we continued to plan in 2021 and here we are today, she said.

According to her, the centre will be focused on the development of artificial intelligence, biomedicine and biotechnology, and on the ways in which digitalisation can raise the productivity of companies and the entire economy.

This is what further leads to higher salaries, a better standard of living, as well as to an economy that is mainly based on knowledge, creativity and innovation, Brnabic emphasised.

Today, we have received great recognition for everything that Serbia has done in the field of digitalisation, development of high technologies and paradigm shift – from an economy that was based on labour-intensive investments to digital development.

That is why this agreement shows that Serbia has been recognised as one of the leaders in the economy and IT industry in the last six years, the Prime Minister pointed out and assessed that this is the announcement of the beginning of an even closer cooperation between Serbia and WEF.

She added that they will have a joint meeting with the 16 WEF centres for the fourth industrial revolution in the world every month, at which they will talk about what each of them is doing, since each has a different focus.

That is how we will hear what everyone is doing every month, learn from each other and I am sure that the centre in Belgrade will be one of the best, the Prime Minister said.

According to her, this gives us visibility, the opportunity to further establish Serbia as an investment destination, a country good for living and investing in new technologies and knowledge.

Jovanovic said that the ecosystem formed around the centre will use the infrastructure of the National Platform for the Development of Artificial Intelligence, the Centre for Genome Sequencing and the future bioeconomic centre – BIO4 Campus.

Izvor/Foto: Tanjug

***

Serbian singer and songwriter Tamara Jokić promoted her album "Transiberica" ​​in Lisbon, on February 3 2022, released by SonyMusicPortugal.

***

Ambassador Oliver Antic published an article "Novak spends Christmas in prison" in DN, 18th of January 2022. The article can be found here. 

***

14 December 2021

Opening of cluster 4 important turning point for Serbia


Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated in Brussels today after the Intergovernmental conference on the accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union (EU) that today is a very important date and a turning point for Serbia.

Brnabic said that in line with the new methodology, Serbia has opened cluster 4 – Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity, and within cluster 4, four chapters have been opened.

The Prime Minister underlined that this is a great success on which she wants to congratulate all citizens of Serbia and she thanked President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic on the support and understanding he showed.

An important segment of the new methodology is political management of integrations. What we have done in the mandate of the new government is that we manage, together with Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic, the integration process and all reforms, first and foremost in the field of the rule of law, politically in full, and that yielded results, the Prime Minister said.

She said that the opening of the chapters is a huge motivation for further reforms in the field of the rule of law, public administration and the economy.

I would like to thank all EU Member States, as well as the European Commission, for their support and understanding. They have shown that they are open, that they are ready to see, to listen, to reward everything we have done and therefore this is a great motivation to continue, not even in the same way we have worked so far, but to go faster and to work better, she noted.

Brnabic voiced hope that Serbia will open cluster 3 in 2022, which is ready, and that preparations for the opening of cluster 5 are on the agenda.

The Prime Minister underlined that environmental protection is gaining importance and that this topic is increasingly present and important in Serbia.

Regional stability, dialogue with Pristina and the economy also remain our priorities. I am satisfied, and we talked about that today, about economic results Serbia is achieving. I expect our growth this year to be 7.5 percent, the Prime Minister pointed out.

She said that the degree of harmonisation of Serbia with the foreign and security policy of the EU currently stands at 65.55 percent.

Brnabic also thanked Slovenia for the successful EU presidency, she thanked EU Member States on their support, as well as the European Commission, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Source: www.srbija.gov.rs
Photo: Tanjug






 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, spoke by phone today with Rui Alberto de Figueiredo Soares, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration of the Republic of Cape Verde. 

Selaković assessed that bilateral relations are good and friendly and said that Serbia is determined to strengthen overall ties with that country.

The minister expressed satisfaction that our relations are adorned with mutual understanding and trust, noting that it is necessary to intensify political dialogue through the exchange of high-level visits. He added that Serbia is ready to conclude several bilateral agreements that would greatly facilitate cooperation.

The head of Serbian diplomacy especially thanked Cape Verde's principled position regarding the non-recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called "Kosovo", expressing expectation that this position will not change, and that we will continue to support and help each other in accordance with national priorities.

According to Minister Selaković, it is necessary to work on improving economic cooperation, and Serbia wants to hear the specific needs and priorities of Cape Verde, and is ready to share our knowledge and experience in areas such as health, agriculture and IT.

Selaković singled out the potentials of cooperation in the field of education, emphasizing that we have increased the number of scholarships within the "World in Serbia" program and that we want to provide an opportunity for a larger number of students from friendly countries to study in our country.

The ministers discussed the fight against the corona virus, and Selaković said that Serbia was ready to donate a certain amount of vaccines, in accordance with its capabilities.

***

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated today in Paris that she expects positive news and support from France for opening one or two clusters at the intergovernmental conference to be held in December.

At the press conference, Brnabic stated that she talked with French President Emanuel Macron about the situation in Serbia, primarily in the context of European integration, i.e., whether we can count on the country's support for opening a cluster at the December intergovernmental conference.

We have two clusters ready for opening, so I expect positive news and support from France for one or both clusters, but certainly significant support, the Prime Minister said.

She pointed out that Macron told her to convey greetings to the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vucic, and the whole of Serbia, as well as that he remembers his visit to Belgrade with great joy.

Today, I had good talks with the President of Cyprus, but also with the President of Slovenia, with whom I also talked about European integration, i.e., the country's support, which is clear and unambiguous for opening a cluster and further progress of Serbia towards full EU membership, regional relations and regional cooperation, said Brnabic.

She stated that she also talked with EU High Representative Josep Borrell in Paris.

There were interesting and good talks, it seems to me that we have done good things for our country and I expect it to continue today, the Prime Minister concluded.

Source/Photo: www.srbija.gov.rs

***
 

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated today that severe examples of endangering the Serbian cultural, historical and spiritual heritage in Kosovo and Metohija are proof of the important role of UNESCO in protecting and preserving heritage.

At the 41st session of the General Conference of UNESCO in Paris, Brnabic emphasized that four jewels of the Serbian medieval cultural heritage in Kosovo – Visoki Decani, Pec Patriarchate, Gracanica and Bogorodica Ljeviska, have been preserved thanks to the fact that they are inscribed on the endangered world heritage list. Hundreds of other sites and monuments are endangered.

The Serbian heritage in Kosovo and Metohija is of immeasurable importance, not only for the national identity of Serbia, but also as a part of the esteemed European and world heritage, she underlined.

Source/Photo: www.srbija.gov.rs

***

Address of the President of the Republic of Serbia at the United Nations climate change conference COP26 held in Glasgow

"Your Excellences,
distinguished delegates,
dear Sarah,

At the very beginning, I feel obliged to thank Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Her Majesty’s Government for exceptional hospitality.

I feel privileged to represent the Republic of Serbia at this important place and at the highest-level world forum, in working on the most important topic of today – promoting climate awareness.

We all agree that we must make investment into climate and environment.

We all, likewise agree, that future generations must be educated in order not to repeat the mistakes we made, by hurting the only Planet that makes life possible.

I am very honoured that the Republic of Serbia is co-chairing this year’s Conference as a Non-EU representative of the Eastern Europe Group.

In concrete terms, we see the special contribution of our expert team in finalising negotiations on the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which refers to the establishment of the global market and non-market mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to remaining provisions referring to advanced transparency framework and common timeframes for Nationally Determined Contributions, which are the key provisions of the Agreement that have not yet been covered by the decision that is to be adopted by the Conference, i.e. all member states.

We, therefore, believe that this is an exceptional opportunity for Serbia to give its full contribution to the finalization of negotiations, which, we hope, will secure full implementation of the Paris Agreement.

As a result of strong economic development, modelled for Serbia by 2050, the impact of the implementation of climate measures to employment will be optimal, through new jobs creation and creation of new industries which have not existed so far.

One billion euros was raised at the first green bonds auction in Serbia, which clearly confirms the trust of international investors in our green agenda, but also to the economic and political stability of our country.

Incomes from green bonds issuance will be used for financing renewables, energy efficiency, sustainable water management, prevention of pollution and circular economy development and biodiversity preservation.

And as you can see, dear friends, my people made a terrific speech for me, but I am going to add a few more words and a few more questions for those that are coming from big powers and that haven’t answered yet several questions:

Number one is: how are we going to finance all these activities?

We’ve heard the story of trillions of dollars that are at our disposal. My question would be: what would be the interest rate, what would be the terms for taking these amounts of money, and actually how are we going to tackle that issue?

Number two: how are we going to treat the nuclear power plants? Are we going to shut them all or are we going to build them more?

Then, how are we going to build more renewables if we already started endorsing populist movements against wind parks, new hydropower plants, and are we going to put in jeopardy the level of our public debt to GDP ratio if we raise huge amounts of money?

How are we going to treat natural gas, and how are we going to secure decent prices of natural gas and electricity power as well?

And, I came here using an electric car from Edinburgh to Glasgow. But, how are we going to do mining and refining of lithium, nickel, cobalt and many other very important minerals?

In the end, we all know what is our final aim, what is our final target. But, it’s not a fairytale – we’ll have to work a lot, we’ll have to be 100 per cent dedicated, and we’ll have to be more honest with each other.

The health of people living in Serbia depends directly on the implementation of this Agenda, just like the health and life of each living being on Earth depends on arrangements that will be reached here and on national implementation of the respective arrangements.

Perhaps it is the right time to listen and hear the cry of Mother Earth because if we lose this race against time, our children will inherit an irreparably polluted Planet.

Thank you very much for listening to me."

Source: www.predsednik.rs
Photo: Dimitrije Goll

***

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, together with Minister of European Integration and Chief Negotiator Jadranka Joksimovic, met today with Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret and the ambassadors of the EU Member States.

The topics of the meeting were 2021 EU Enlargement Package and in particular the Report of the European Commission on Serbia for this year, as well as the next steps in the process of accession to the EU.

She underlined that Serbia has continuous communication with the Delegation of the EU and all Member States and that it speaks openly about further reforms, first and foremost in the field of the rule of law.

The Prime Minister assessed that this year’s Report on the progress of Serbia gives an objective evaluation of everything the Serbian government has achieved on speeding up the political and economic reforms, by which one of the strategic priorities has been fulfilled.

According to Brnabic, it is of particular importance that the European Commission has given a clear recommendation that Serbia reached the criteria necessary for opening two clusters of chapters.

Today we have an opportunity to present to you, as representatives of the EU and EU Member States, additional information on the adoption and implementation of all necessary reforms, the Prime Minister stated.

For this reason, it is important that this meeting is being held immediately after the release of the European Commission’s Report and before the final decision of the Member States on whether they will support the opening of clusters, she said.

Brnabic voiced her hope that these additional explanations will contribute to Serbia obtaining consent for the formal continuation of negotiations by the end of this year.

She also underlined that the European Commission’s recommendation for the further opening of clusters is very important politically, not only as an incentive to the government to continue implementing its reform plans with motivation and responsibility, but also to the citizens of Serbia and all in the region, who in this way receive once more a clear confirmation on the perspective of membership in the EU.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Serbia wishes to make additional progress in all areas, especially in the field of the rule of law and that continuous communication with the Delegation of the EU in Serbia and all Member States is of particular importance to that end.

Joksimovic stated that the Report provides the necessary balance in the evaluation of everything Serbia has achieved in the previous period.

According to her, in some segments the implementation of reforms is faster, in some other somewhat slower, but progress has been noticed in all areas and is noted down in the Report itself.

She voiced hope that the general assessments from the European Commission, which speak in favour of honesty, dedication and capability of the Serbian government to implement policies which are important for the accession process in time of pandemic, will be a sufficient orientation for the Member States to agree on the further opening of clusters.

Ambassador Giaufret expressed gratitude to the Serbian government for convening this meeting with ambassadors of the EU Member States, describing it as a positive indication of Serbia’s dedication to strengthening dialogue on reforms for the sake of solving priorities and necessary activities identified in the yearly Report of the European Commission.

Source/Photo: www.srbija.gov.rs

***

Distinguished President of the Security Council,

Esteemed members of the Security Council,

Distinguished Special Representative,

I would like to thank Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Guterres and Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK Mr. Tanin for the report submitted and for their efforts made towards the implementation of the UNMIK mandate. I would also like to thank the members of the Security Council for the continued attention they have devoted to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija. The Republic of Serbia highly values the activities of the Mission of the United Nations in Kosovo and Metohija and supports it in carrying out its work as efficiently as possible, pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, and undiminished in scope, aiming to build and preserve lasting peace, stability and security in the Province.

Mr. Tanin,

Please accept the expressions of our gratitude for your engagement and the cooperation we achieved during your term of office.

Mr. President,

Deep regret and concerns are raised by the fact that the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija in the past period has been marked by an increasing number of various ethnically motivated attacks and incidents targeting Serbs, which was also stated in the Report; that the provisional institutions of self-government (PISG) in Pristina continue to take unilateral steps and refuse to implement the agreements reached in the Brussels dialogue; and that institutional discrimination against Serbs, attacks on the sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the undermining of the economic sustainability of Serb communities in the Province have continued.

We are witnessing that dangerous provocations by Pristina are taking place every day, at an accelerated pace, thus seriously threatening the safety of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and directly violating the agreements and arrangements reached within the Brussels dialogue.

The latest violent incursion of the so-called ROSU units into the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, on 13 October, is the ninth incursion of its kind. Tear gas, shock bombs and unbridled violence are becoming a matter of everyday life for Serbs in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, and that must be stopped immediately.

In the last attack with firearms and chemicals used by Pristina special forces, 71-year-old Verica Djelic died as a result of chemicals used in the intervention, 10 unarmed civilians were wounded,

one of them 36 years old Srećko Sofronijević was critically wounded in the back with of an automatic rifle. A three-month-old baby, who miraculously remained unharmed, was also the target of the shooting.

The false excuse for the latest unilateral action, as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called it, was the fight against organized crime and smuggling. Ladies and gentlemen, Serbia is strongly against organized crime and smuggling, but the members of the UNSC should know that such an important and general global goal, which we all share, was cynically used for an armed attack on unarmed civilians, which began with an automatic rifle raid of pharmacies in which patients of Serbian and other nationalities are supplied with vitally important medicines. Four days before the local elections in Kosovo and Metohija, in order to gain votes in an irresponsible and inhumane way, fully motivated by separatist goals, the current PISG regime used medicines on which people’s lives depend to prove its position on the status contrary to UNSCR 1244.

Only a few days earlier, another provocation on the part of Pristina led to a dangerous crisis, when personnel of the so-called ROSU unit, armed with long firearms and reinforced with armoured vehicles, were deployed to administrative crossings between central Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija - Brnjak and Jarinje – in order to remove Serbian license plates and replace them with temporary ones, thus violently preventing the free movement of citizens.

These events do not fall within the reporting period covered by the latest Report of the UN Secretary General on the work of UNMIK, but it is incumbent upon us to address them on this occasion, in order to have everyone understand how dramatic the situation on the ground has been and how serious the consequences of Pristina's unilateral actions can be.

The incursions of heavily armed Pristina police formations, composed exclusively of Albanians, into the north of Kosovo and Metohija, under various pretexts and motives, with the use of excessive force, are provocations that have an extremely dangerous potential to destabilize the already sensitive security situation on the ground. The goal of the latest incursions of Pristina’s special force personnel into the north of the province was to provoke the Serbs and additionally intimidate them with a demonstration of force, as well as to provoke Belgrade to react hastily in some way.

It is obvious that with such moves Pristina aims to erase the 10 years of dialogue, which is the only way to resolve open issues. These provocations once again demonstrate that the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina, not only do not intend to implement everything agreed in the Brussels dialogue, but that their goal is to completely deny dialogue as a means of resolving problems. An effective response to Pristina's lack of credibility and their dangerous play with fire, which could have unforeseeable consequences, cannot be provided by calling on "both sides" for constructiveness and restraint, which has long been a manner in public communication of some important factors in the international community. There is only one source of destabilization, it has a name – and that is the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina - and after the events of 13 October, it is clear that it can and needs to be stopped by urgent and decisive action of the international community. It is now quite obvious that these are no longer sporadic and

isolated provocations by Pristina, but that this is an organized campaign of ethnically motivated violence and discrimination against Serbs.

We also express our concern over the latest imposition of tariffs by Pristina on certain products originating from central Serbia, which was made public on 8 October. We remind you that the unilateral decision of Pristina to impose duties on products from central Serbia in November 2018 resulted in a de facto complete trade blockade and a long-term stalemate in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. In contrast to Pristina, which persistently seeks to raise barriers towards central Serbia through unilateral acts, Belgrade is persistently and consistently working to liberalize the flow of people, goods, services and capital, which is the basic goal of our "Open Balkan" initiative. North Macedonia and Albania joined this initiative, but Pristina did not.

Distinguished members of the Security Council,

In the period from March to September this year, which is covered in the latest Report, close to 100 ethnically motivated attacks were carried out against Serbs, their private property, religious and cultural heritage sites. The increase in the frequency of attacks was accompanied by the strengthening of the intensity of ethnically motivated violence, which more and more often targets children, the elderly, women, the few returnees present there, as well as churches and other property of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

This systematically intensifies the ubiquitous sense of insecurity of the remaining Serbs, but also deters potential returnees, who are in fact being told that local Albanian communities can attack them with impunity and prevent them from returning to live in their own homes.

The most striking example of the position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija is the case of the displaced person Dragica Gašić, who moved into her apartment in the municipality of Djakovica again in early June. In that town – to which local Albanians proudly refer as a place forbidden to Serbs - Ms. Gašić, on her return, first faced physical and verbal attacks by citizens of Albanian nationality living there. Instead of being provided protection, that seriously ill woman then became a victim of institutional persecution as well, that the local self-government bodies and the police unleashed against her. Since this is a person who is the first and only Serb returnee to Đakovica after more than twenty years, it was to be expected that, at that moment, at least civil society organizations would attempt to protect her rights. However, NGOs from Djakovica soon joined the activities aimed at the expulsion Ms. Gašić, including those receiving funding from international donors for projects related to strengthening democracy and the rule of law.

I must also mention the latest attack on the house of the only remaining Serbian woman in the center of Pec, retired teacher Rumena Ljubić, whose windows were stoned twice in just 24 hours on 13 October.

Dragica's and Rumena’s fate is a frightening reflection of the real situation of human rights that almost every one of over 200,000 displaced Serbs and non-Albanians would face in Kosovo and Metohija - provided that they gather the courage to return to their homes in the Province after more than twenty years. I would like to remind you again that since 1999, only around 1.9% of internally

displaced Serbs and other non-Albanians have achieved a sustainable return to Kosovo and Metohija.

Therefore, I believe that the aforementioned will encourage the members of the Security Council and the international presence on the ground to devote priority attention in the future

to the issue of the return of displaced persons, which is an important part of the UNMIK mandate under UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

I therefore thank the Secretary-General in particular for keeping this extremely important issue in focus and for calling again, in the conclusions of his Report, for the creation of conditions for the sustainable return of internally displaced persons and the sustainable reintegration of returnees.

Distinguished members of the Security Council,

Serbian medieval monuments in Kosovo and Metohija, including monuments that, due to their exceptional value but also constantly being subject to threats are inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger, are still among the most endangered cultural heritage in Europe.

I wish to recall that there are over 1,300 Serbian churches and monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija. Attacks on Serbian cultural and religious heritage are at the same time attacks on the identity of Serbs in the Province and directly affect their sense of safety.

A striking example of disrespect for Serbian cultural and religious monuments in the Province is the case of the Visoki Decani monastery. The monastery, which has been the target of attacks and shelling several times since 2000, is still secured by KFOR forces due to being under a threat. It is faced with a series of hostile actions, and the perpetrators are not deterred by the fact that this is a World Heritage Site. Despite frequent declaratory statements, even the decision of the so-called "constitutional court" of the PISG in Pristina five years ago confirming ownership of Visoki Decani Monastery over 24 hectares, is not respected. We welcome the assessment made by the UN Secretary General in his Report.

Dear Mr. President,

The Republic of Serbia remains committed to finding a compromise political solution, as prescribed under Resolution 1244, which will ensure lasting peace and stability. We firmly believe that dialogue and the implementation of the agreements reached are the only right way to resolve all open issues.

As a state committed to the respect for international law and a member of the United Nations, Serbia opposes any attempt at establishing an artificial balance between the parties in the dialogue, as well as the relativization of responsibility for unilateral acts.

We note with concern that not even eight years after reaching the Brussels Agreement, the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities has not been initiated, although Belgrade has fulfilled all its obligations under that agreement.

There are also numerous and repeated examples of Pristina violating or obstructing agreements reached in dialogue, in the areas of energy, justice, freedom of movement and visits by officials.

One such example is the verdict sentencing Ivan Todosijevic to two years in prison, which is also pointed out in the Secretary General's Report. The Brussels Agreement was directly breached, which was also stated by the representatives of the European Union. With its conduct Pristina caused immeasurable damage to the reconciliation process in Kosovo and Metohija.

Despite the interpretation from the European Commission that this is a violation of the Brussels Agreement, because Todosijevic had to be sentenced by a panel consisting of the majority of judges of Serbian ethnicity, Pristina still does not take any action in this regard.

Pristina also continued with the practice of banning Serbian officials from entering the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

We believe that it is important that the international community, and especially the European Union, as the guarantor of the agreement, firmly insists that the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina start implementing all the agreements reached.

Distinguished members of the Security Council,

As before, the Republic of Serbia remains fully committed to resolving the issue of missing persons, as also demonstrated through full cooperation with relevant international mechanisms as well as participation in the work of the Working Group on Missing Persons. We expect that the representatives of the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina will fulfill their obligations.

Bearing in mind everything I delivered here today in my address, we hold the position that the international presence in Kosovo and Metohija, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, is still necessary. In addition to UNMIK, the presence of KFOR as the main guarantor of security and EULEX, due to its engagement in the field of the rule of law, is also important. I would like to emphasize once again that Serbia fully supports respect for international law, comprehensive implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and activities of UNMIK in an undiminished scope and with adequate financial resources, so that the Mission fulfills the mandate entrusted to it under the Resolution.

Thank you.

***

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, have attended today the ceremony of the beginning of works on the modernization and rehabilitation of Niš-Brestovac railway at the international Corridor 10 as well as signing of the agreement between the Public Company Koridori Srbije and Consortium STRABAG AG and STRABAG d.o.o. Beograd on the construction of the first phase of the Highway of peace in the section Merošina – Merošina 1.

“In Donje Međurovo the 23km long railway is build and 75 percent of it will be financed by the European Union. It is enormous money for us, great encouragement and respect. This railway and highway are important both for us and Europe. I am very grateful to Mrs Von der Leyen for coming to Niš today and Niš becomes the center of all Balkan corridors, it becomes the Balkan crossroads”, said President Vučić adding that Serbia was entirely committed to the implementation of the agreements signed so far under the auspices of the EU.

“We will do our best not only to preserve peace, but also to reach more agreements which would mean security of everyone in the Balkans and better life and economy for all of us. We know what our job is. As much as we can, taking into account the difficulties due to the relation with Priština, we will do everything to make progress on the European path”, said President Vučić and thanked the President of the European Commission for kind words and wish to see Serbia in the EU.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, emphasized that today Serbia had already gone a long way to the EU membership, it had made an incredible progress and efforts in the past years and improved conditions in different sectors. She said that she strongly supports the European integrations of Serbia.

“This is a very special moment. Signing of this agreement is a symbol of our great cooperation and projects of connections through which we jointly build our European future, because the future of Serbia in the European Union is better. The corridor connects Serbia to Austria and Greece and is really the driving force of economy. It is the driving force for the Serbian economy, investments, the economic plan which already functions in Serbia”, said the President of the European Commission.

Source: www.predsednik.rs

Photo: Dimitrije Go

***

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has discussed today by phone with the General Secretary of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg about, as the General Secretary said, worrisome situation in northern Kosovo and Metohija.

President Vučić said that Serbia had not violated either Brussels Agreement or Resolution 1244 by anything, by any single move or in any manner jeopardized peace preservation.

“The complete occupation by armored vehicles of northern Kosovo and Metohija has lasted for seven days and it is conducted by Priština and everyone in the international community “are thunderously silent”, said Serbian President. “However, everyone is worried all of a sudden when they spot Serbian helicopters and airplanes at the territory of central Serbia, because apparently they should not exist, or should not take off until they receive the approval from Kurti or someone from the international community”, says President Vučić.

Serbia observes all international agreements it signed, Serbia will always conduct responsibly and seriously, but Serbia is still asking when the formation of SMC will start and when Kurti’s armored units will be withdrawn from northern Kosovo and Metohija.

Finally, with the gratitude to General Secretary Stoltenberg for the fair relation and wish to listen to the Serbian side, President Vučić asked about the norm and international regulation violated by Serbia? Today, yesterday or any time?

The two interlocutors agreed to stay in constant touch due to necessity of the preservation of peace and stability in the entire region.

 
Source/Photo: www.predsednik.rs

***

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, has stated that in New York he introduced foreign ministers of 28 countries to economic success of Serbia but also to the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, which he also discussed with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, who told him that we could count on the support of the Russian Federation, with regards to Serbian interests in K&M.

Summarizing results of his visit to New York within the session of the UN General Assembly, Minister Selaković says that one of the last meetings was with Minister Lavrov, which was their third meeting in the previous nine months.

The Serbian Foreign Minister says that he surely used this opportunity, too, to introduce Minister Lavrov to the latest events in northern Kosovo and Metohija, the situation of the dialog between Belgrade and Priština and very clear and unambiguous attitude of President Aleksandar Vučić regarding the continuation of the dialog and subsequent events in K&M.

“We discussed the principled support of the Russian Federation, which is constantly present not just in Moscow, Belgrade, in the field, but also here in the East River, by the delegation of the Russian Federation as the permanent member of the UN Security Council. Of course, we will continue to maintain this type of dialog. What Minister Lavrov said was that we could count on the support of the Russian Federation in future with regards to our interests in K&M”, highlighted Minister Selaković.

He said that he had had the opportunity in New York to hold 33 meetings, of which 28 with ministers of foreign affairs, whom he had introduced also to topicalities related to the latest events in Kosovo and Metohija, but also to our principled position regarding the observance of the international public law, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Minister Selaković said that his colleagues at the meetings had praised the substantial and fantastic success of Serbia in the consolidation of the economic sphere and transformation of what had been on the edge of collapse and economic disaster seven years before to the fastest growing economy in Europe, which Serbia was in the past two years.

He said that most of his interlocutors had supported our reforms and expressed great respect toward what President Aleksandar Vučić and Serbia had done in the previous period.

Many of them, says the Serbian Foreign Minister, showed great interest in the manner in which Serbia organized the figth against Covid 19.

“It was a great pleasure and pride to represent the Republic of Serbia in all these meetings. Many of my colleagues confirmed their arrival to Belgrade to the Conference on 11th and 12th October, which is dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Non-Allied Movement”, said Minister Selaković.

He emphasized that it was not just the evidence of how much they had cared to come to Belgrade to the conference, but also to see and witness the Serbia which after several decades of attempts to fight different challenges rose to its feed, was economically consolidated and turned towards its traditional friends.

“That is a great deal and our country will surely during October be one of the spots on Earth of greatest importance for multilateralism, for cooperation among the countries which share the same values, the values entered into the UN Charter and which are based on the promotion and fight for peace, equality, observance of the international public law and rights of every country to pursue its path to happiness and better and more ordered society in compliance with the wishes of its population”, said Minister Selaković.

He said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, would come to Belgrade to the conference on the occasion of the Non-Allied Movement adding that we had strategic cooperation with Azerbaijan and frequent contacts.

“We agreed to realize as soon as possible after the Belgrade conference his bilateral visit to Serbia”, added Minister Selaković.

He said that it had been agreed to intensify the cooperation and finalize the agreements which should be signed and after that realized when the meeting of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev took place.

Minister Selaković says that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had recently received its sector for economic diplomacy and there were great expectations from it and one of the tasks was to deepen the cooperation with Azerbaijan.

***

An article of Ambassador Oliver Antic has been published in Diario d Noticias. An article can be found here.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic participated today at the Global COVID-19 summit, organised by the White House, which was opened by US President Joseph Biden.

The video messages are attended by a large number of world leaders and officials of international organizations, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British and Canadian Prime Ministers, Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and many others.

In the message, the Prime Minister pointed out that Serbia was among the first European countries to procure a covid vaccine, and that she was the first European Prime Minister to receive the vaccine.

Thanks to years of investment in digitalisation and development of eGovernment, we have managed to organise a complicated and complex vaccination process very efficiently and in a way that it is focused on citizens, she explained.

However, as she added, from the very beginning we were aware that this is not just a matter of our citizens and only our struggle. In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all safe or no one is safe.

That is why, in addition to procuring vaccines for our citizens, we donated vaccines to the citizens of the Western Balkans, but also to other countries, she reminded and specified that Serbia donated 230,000 doses of vaccines to the region, we vaccinated foreign citizens in Serbia with approximately 300,000 doses and set aside we have 570,000 doses of vaccines for countries in Africa and Asia.

Brnabic mentioned that Serbia has already started the production of covid vaccine from one manufacturer, and that it will start production from another by the end of the year, because in that way we want to help and support all people and countries that need vaccines.

This is a pandemic in which we will either win together or lose together, but we must fight together, the Prime Minister repeated.

That is why Serbia supports the goals of this global summit, she emphasised, and expressed her gratitude to the United States of America and President Biden for organising the summit and supporting joint efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vaccines are the only way out in the fight against the pandemic, concluded Brnabic.

***

The article of the Ambassador Oliver Antic, entitled "Continuation of one tragedy" was published on 29 of August 2021 in Diario de Notisias. The article can be found here.  

***

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, attended the celebration of the Remembrance Day of all the victims and expelled Serbs in the armed operation "Storm" and said that Serbia remembers!

We have decided – our goal was and remains the EU, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said in an interview with the German daily "Handelsblatt", adding that there is no alternative for Serbia, but also stressing that China is an important partner for Serbia, and that the task of the state is to take care about the interests of its citizens.

He thus answered the question of what Serbia will choose once it has to choose between close relations with Beijing or the EU. Vučić emphasized that Serbia wants to become a full member of the EU.

"We are connected by history, common culture, EU members are already undoubtedly our most important partners", he explained and added that the trade exchange between Germany and China is 3,000 times higher than between Serbia and China, and, as he noted, even despite that, Serbia's business operations with China are portrayed as a problem.

To the statement that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not congratulate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, and that he did so, he replied that Serbia is not Germany, but a small country. On additional insistence on what Serbia will do if it has to choose between the EU and China, he underlined that Serbia has already decided, that its goal was and remains the EU membership.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, stated at a gathering dedicated to digitalization and the IT sector, which was held in New York, that since she became Prime Minister, she is most proud of Serbia's success in the field of digitalization.

Brnabić, who is on a two-day visit to the United States, said that when she was elected Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government in August 2016, she wanted to do everything to change the public administration and what bothered her as a citizen.

She stated that, when she took office as Prime Minister, she knew what her priorities were and that first of all, digitalization needed to be raised to a higher level, that the education reform was supposed to begin, as well as work on strengthening the economy.

I believed in a country that believes in its people, because the Serbian people are creative. From 1 June 2017, we started working as an e-Government, i.e. we started exchanging data electronically, said the Prime Minister.

According to her, our citizens no longer had to go to, say, the Tax Administration, and since then, the public administration has exchanged 50 million documents, which means that citizens did not have to go from office to office for 50 million papers.

Brnabić pointed out that she is proud of what has been done in the field of education since she became the head of the Government, specifying that in September 2017, programming was introduced as a compulsory subject in primary schools.

Nobody believed that we could do that, but we cooperated with the private sector and some social organizations and we succeeded. At the moment, we are far ahead of numerous countries in Europe and the world, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister pointed out that she was most proud when the cornerstone was laid for the science and technology park in southern Serbia, noting that so far, our country has four science and technology parks.

She pointed out that Serbia has since become one of the most successful countries in the world in the field of technology, and that according to some parameters, it is among the ten countries in the world, or among the five, assessing that this is proof that the country can change quickly.

Answering the question about vaccination, the Prime Minister emphasized that our country has never seen it as a geopolitical issue, but as a health issue.

According to her, Serbia talked with producers from both the East and the West and was among the first European countries to sign agreements with the company Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinopharm.

Unfortunately, many countries have viewed this issue as geopolitical. It did not matter to us, as long as the vaccines were safe, the Prime Minister emphasized and added that this was not the end of Serbia's success, because good organization was also needed.

Brnabić explained that the organization is another important thing in vaccination, because it is a logistically very difficult process, adding that, with the help of digitalization, success has been achieved and that everything we did in the previous years has paid off. She stated that Serbia quickly established a system through which citizens could express interest in vaccination against the coronavirus and choose which vaccine they wanted to receive, as well as to be informed by a message when to go and get vaccinated.

Now I can log in on my phone, to see how many people have received the vaccine, how many more have registered, so that the effects of digitalization are obvious. We have made everything very efficient and easy for our citizens, the Prime Minister explained.

Answering the question of what she can tell other countries of the world about how to progress faster, Brnabić said that it is important to invest as much as possible in digitalization and education.

You need to teach children how to think, not what to think. Not all children will become IT experts, but what they can learn is an algorithmic way of thinking and how to make decisions, she said.

The Prime Minister mentioned investing in high-speed internet and providing infrastructure for start-ups as an important thing for progress, because more and more economies will be based on start-ups and innovations, emphasizing that people should be helped to start companies and implement their ideas.

Speaking about social networks, she pointed out that fake news has become the biggest problem on these networks and that it will remain so for some time.

This is the biggest challenge I face as Prime Minister, especially during the corona virus pandemic, she said, adding that social networks are also a great opportunity for politicians to communicate with citizens.

***

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, spoke at the Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) today and on that occasion sent an invitation to the representatives of the members to gather in Belgrade on 11 and 12 October, when the 60th anniversary of the first Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Belgrade in 1961 will be marked.

Selaković informed the participants of the conference that Serbia would organize this important jubilee of non-aligned countries together with Azerbaijan – which is currently chairing the NAM.

In his address, Selaković reminded that the former Yugoslavia and President Tito, as cofounders of the Movement, gave their contribution to creating a vision of a different world, and that Serbia, as one of the successors of Yugoslavia, is proud of that part of its history.

"The spirit of non-alignment is based on equality, freedom, lasting peace, sovereign equality of states and peaceful cooperation of all peoples, and these values are also woven into the statebuilding foundations of Serbia", the minister said.

Selaković said that the Non-Aligned Movement throughout its history has been a beacon of freedom to all those who sought the right to existence and prosperity in a world that was often ruled, not by the force of law, but by the law of force. He assessed that even today we find ourselves in times of serious global challenges in which the Movement has the opportunity to reaffirm its libertarian traditions and commitment to a world of equals.

"Serbia, as a militarily neutral and politically independent state, will give its most sincere contribution to such goals of the Movement. We hope that by strengthening mutual ties and cooperation, as a group of states and peoples that share the same values and interests, we will strengthen our common capacity to face the challenges of tomorrow. And the challenges are already before us", Selaković pointed out.

The Minister emphasized that international law should be a pillar of political and security architecture of the world, and added that Serbia respects the commitment of the members of the Movement towards the goals and principles of the UN Charter.

"Many members of this movement are aware that by insisting on international law, they are working in their own favor and in favor of preserving regional and global stability," the minister pointed out.

Selaković also said that the COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed that inequality, lack of solidarity and empathy in the world have become very obvious in the roughest way.

"Serbia is eternally grateful to all the countries which, such as Azerbaijan, helped us in difficult times. We later extended that chain of solidarity by making vaccines available, not only to our citizens, but also to others in the region. We supported our neighbors with the belief that solidarity is the best investment in a common future", the minister concluded.

***

Diário de Notícias, 11.06.2021.

Much like the counterintuitive order of the words in this very title - political correctness ahead of the truth implies that politics has an advantage even over scientific truth.

This further means that a lie can take precedent over the truth. The only difference of its manifestation in the 21st century compared to the past centuries is that they used to burn scientists at the stake, in the 19th and 20th centuries "only" their books, while today everyone who speaks truth that does not fit into political fiction can be slandered,
even scientists can be disqualified simply by branding them “politically incorrect”. It is even sadder that today it is possible to publicly condemn historical figures with complete ignorance and disregard of the facts and historic context of the times in which they lived. Such non-historical interpretations will always produce wrong conclusions.
 
The problem of the relationship between political correctness and the truth is more complex. Namely, political correctness is an inseparable part of the ruling ideology, in fact it is its essential product, so that when we speak of its relation to the truth, we speak of the relation of ideology and the truth.

When this is pointed out, things become more clear, because ideology has a decisive part over the truth: the ruling ideology is protected by the legal order, primarily criminal and administrative penalties, as well as civil sanctions. Claims by officials of ruling political parties, media (TV and radio broadcasters with national frequencies, the highest-circulation dailies and weeklies), favored "intellectuals", "scientific gatherings", "round tables", etc. All this, in turn, forms a ruling public opinion, and it inevitably creates self-censorship, as the most effective and most sophisticated form of informal censorship. Not succumbing to it is certainly not easy. This requires, not infrequently, the courage of Socrates, sometimes even Christ himself. Truth, and thus justice, is accomplished through the sacrifice to which the righteous are ready. The greater the ideological interest (e.g. geopolitical), the greater the sacrifice required. That is why restitution and rehabilitation are important legal and ethical in institutions, which must be included in basic human rights.
 
Thus, in the relationship between ideology and truth, it is clear that ideology prevails, in other words, political correctness and vice versa: the truth, and justice directly related to it, do not win. On the contrary, they lose. That is why the rule in historical science is that historical (temporal) distance is necessary for establishing historical truth. It is understood that in autocratic regimes the historical distance lasts a long time, moreover the calculation of the deadline cannot begin before the introduction of the democratic system. However, historical experience shows that in some democratic states, especially when it comes to great powers with pronounced geopolitical interests, this deadline can be also very long, sometimes similar to that which is characteristic of non-democratic states.
 
“No age is suitable for people who prefer to think for themselves than to sing with a choir of conformists”… “If someone sees reality as it is, and can not refrain from describing it, it is considered an assassination of the established order” said academician Jean Gwenael Dutourd at the open session of the French Academy on December 5, 1996. On that occasion, he delivered by now his famous speech “scandale de la vertu” and he cited the example when the French National Committee of Writers, after World War II, imposed a ban on publishing a single line written by those writers who, in their opinion, showed a certain affection for the regime of Vichy or did not sufficiently avoid associating with the German occupier and, at the same time, he pointed out: "I foresaw the maneuver of mediocre writers to remove the competition of talented people from bookstores, at least temporarily". By the way, Dutourd was delighted with the ring of academician Prosper Merimee, on which were engraved Epicharm's words - Don't forget to be distrustful, which is a concise version of his main message: "Be sober and learn to doubt, because it is the backbone of the spirit". By the way, Merimee enjoyed writing about Serbian folk tales, customs and songs.
 
Only great individuals, then and now, allowed themselves not to be part of the choir of conformists. Luís de Camões saw the original version (from 1572) of the most important Portuguese epic, “Os Lusíadas”, being subject to changes in 1584, after evaluation by the Inquisition, while in the last century Canto IX was eliminated from the school curriculum.One such example today is provided by Nobel laureate Peter Handtke, who had to be an incomparably better writer than all his competitors in order to be awarded, despite the choir of conformists. To make the absurd even greater, those who attacked him the loudest, appear to have not read a single line of his.
 
That is why the sound of the choir of modern civilization leaves the impression that it is conducted by Niccolo Machiavelli. In contrast, the harmony that we can only hear from individual solo singers leaves an irresistible impression of being conducted by Aristotle or St. Thomas Aquinas.

Oliver B. Antic
Ambassador of Serbia


 

09. June 2021.


Dear Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, members of the delegations

I would point to a few ongoing issues in my speech that refer to the competences of the Mechanism, namely, the possibility of serving the sentences passed by the ICTY and Mechanism in the Republic of Serbia, with the current practice of disabling early release of the sentenced persons as well as obligation of the Mechanism regarding protection of sentenced persons.

The second part of the speech will be dedicated to issues that are opened by the six –month Report on the work of the Mechanism by Mechanism President Mr. Agius and Report by the Chief Prosecutor Mr. Serge Brammertz, especially regarding current cooperation of the Republic of Serbia and the Mechanism.

The third part of my speech, and I noticed that in many of your statements even today, is going to be the view of Serbia on everything that took place in The Hague Tribunal and what the Tribunal verdicts brought to people in the region of former Yugoslavia.

The Republic of Serbia has initiated before the Security Council, on several occasions, the issue of possibility of serving sentences passed by the ICTY and Mechanism in the Republic of Serbia. Beside the efforts to move this issue from “square one”, not a single response was obtained from the Security Council. The majority of persons that are serving their prison sentences are citizens of the Republic of Serbia, and it comes naturally that the Republic of Serbia is interested in enabling them to serve their prison sentences in the Republic of Serbia.

ICTY and the Mechanism are making references to the Security Council as an institution in charge of dealing with this issue.

I am ready to reiterate here the readiness of the Republic of Serbia to take over obligations and liability for executing prison sentences that the Tribunal or Mechanism passed on the citizens of the Republic of Serbia, under the monitoring of the Mechanism and full respect for the authority of the Mechanism regarding early release.

Mr. President

A particular problem that we are facing with is disturbance by the judicial institutions established in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, which is within Serbia and which is under Interim Administration of the UN. We are witnesses of attempts of retrial for two citizens that are serving their prison sentences for which they had already been trialed before the ICTY. More concretely, in previous period there was an attempt for hearing of Nebojša Pavković and for obtaining extradition of Vlastimir Đorđević.

I urge on the Mechanism and Security Council to prevent attempts of violation of the principle ne bis in idem, a civilization principle that was confirmed in Article 7 (1) of the Statute of the Mechanism and to disable retrials for persons already convicted by the ICTY, particularly to make sure that it is not done in the territory which is under interim UN administration.

Mr. President,

President of the Mechanism (Mr. Carmel Agius), apart from the regular Report, delivered also on 11 May 2021 a letter to the President of the Security Council, whose subject is the alleged omission of the Republic of Serbia to apprehend and turn over to the Mechanism Petar Jojić and Vjerica Radeta, indicted of contempt of court, claiming that in this way the Republic of Serbia was acting contrary to its obligations towards the UNSC Resolution 1966 (2010) and asking the Security Council to take measures in order to ensure that Serbia meets the alleged obligations in accordance with the Mechanism Statue and Resolution 1966.

The point of the argumentation of the President of the Mechanism comes to that that the Republic of Serbia has the obligation to deprive of liberty and extradite to the Mechanism its citizens accused of contempt of court, regardless of the nature of accusation, circumstances under which such an order was made and consequences that might result from its implementation.

It is about accusations that do not refer to sever violations of international humanitarian law and that are related to a case before the ICTY, which ended in 2018 (Vojislav Šešelj case), by acquitting the defendant in the first instance, and upon the Prosecutor’s complaint the defendant was declared guilty and sentenced to a 10-year imprisonment, which was covered by the time he spent at the UN Detention Unit.

Judge Agius states that Serbia ignores its obligations in accordance with the Resolution 1966 (2010). Quite the opposite- the Republic of Serbia takes seriously its obligations regarding cooperation with the Mechanism. After the warrant for apprehension and extradition of the two persons accused of contempt of court to the Mechanism had been introduced, the Higher Court in Belgrade established that assumptions for their apprehension and extradition to the Mechanism had not been met. The decision is founded on the rules of international law and domestic law of the Republic of Serbia and it is mandatory for holders of the executive power in the Republic of Serbia.

I would remind here that the first decision of a sole judge (Aydin Sefa Akay, 12 June 2018), that was acting in this case was that the criminal prosecution of V. Radeta and P. Jojić for alleged contempt of court was to be forwarded to the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia. In procedures that followed, the argument of the alleged unwillingness of the witnesses to cooperate with the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia was stated for the first time, and the decision on deprivation of transferring the case to the jurisdiction of the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia was based on the respective argument.

The Republic of Serbia expressed its readiness to take over the court procedure against Petar Jojić and Vjerica Radeta on several occasions and it provided appropriate guarantees. Additionally, the Republic of Serbia fully recognizes and accepts the obligation of the Mechanism to monitor trials that were transferred to national courts with the help of international and regional organizations, as well as to take measures envisaged by Article 6 of the Statute of the Mechanism.

I would remind here that the Republic of Serbia extradited to the tribunal all the persons indicted by the Prosecutor’s Office, and among the respective mostly highest political, military and police officials; it enabled presence of vast number of witnesses, delivered extensive documentation. Obligation of the Mechanism, in accordance with the Resolution of this Security Council, is to take measures that enable transfer of cases to national justice system. In previous practice, 13 cases were transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2 to Croatia and only one to Serbia.

The last but not the least, I want to remind all of you here of the fact that France- of course as a sovereign and independent country- upon request for apprehension and extradition of Florence Altman for publishing documents and contempt of court, refused the request for extradition, with an explanation that it does not extradite its citizens. For far smaller offence you ask as to extradite our citizens Jojic and Radeta, showing both the distrust to Serbian justice and judiciary and Serbian State, as well as a fact that the rule from ancient Rome is still valid – quod licet lovi non licet bovi.

It does not harm to underline that high-level officers and politicians were not trialed for crimes against Serbs, and that crimes against Serbs remained unsanctioned before ICTY and Mechanism. Let me remind you, just as an example that Ademi and Norac case for ferocious crimes against Serb civilians in Medački Džep was left to Croatian justice institutions. Proven crimes against Serbs, like those of Ramuš Haradinaj, Naser Orić, then Ante Gotovina and other indicted for military operation “Storm” that led to a complete ethnic cleansing of Serb population in the big part of today’s Croatia, resulted before the ICTY in acquittals. Many horrible crimes against Serb civilians that were committed in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, and that resulted in ethnic cleansing, simply were not the subject of interest of the ICTY.

What’s very important and not to leave anything unclear, Serbia is a country that condemns all crimes and all criminals who perpetrated them in the region of former Yugoslavia. However, it is interesting that despite often criticism Serbia is the only one that speaks openly and condemns crimes perpetrated by Serb nationals, while in other regional countries they do not speak at all about crimes that representatives of those nations committed against members of Serbian people.

And I want to emphasize once again here in front of you that Serbia condemns terrible crime in Srebrenica and extends its deepest condolences to the families of all killed in that massacre. And there are no “buts” about the respective.

Nevertheless, we are here to analyze results and penal policy of ICTY and the Mechanism and it was such that it has never gained trust among Serbian people, no matter where they live. And not because we Serbs do not acknowledge crime committed by some of our compatriots, but because The Hague Tribunal, with exceptions, was judging only to Serbs and in all three territories of former Yugoslavia- Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo and Metohija, which some of the SC Member States see and name of course, contrary to law and legal norms and UN Resolutions, as an independent state. I would try to plastically prove to you how The Hague justice was tailored even though I know that it will not come to understanding of many of you, but to me it is important because of the history, facts, and school books that will be made in accordance with the facts.

Namely, Serbs were sentenced to totally 1138 years of imprisonment, and to 8 life imprisonments. At the same time, The Hague Tribunal did not sentence a single Croat for crimes against Serbs, neither in actions Medački Džep, nor Flash and Storm. How politically cunning it was done in the Tribunal, and all wrapped in the form of law and justice. Prosecutors of The Hague Tribunal chose on purpose three military and political leaders of Croats, Bosniac Muslims and Albanians, on all three mentioned territories, committed against Serbs. – Ante Gotovina, Naser Orić and Ramuš Haradinaj. It is interesting that following the same pattern, the same pattern, this injustice was shared. Namely, all of them were sentenced in the first instance procedure, with the exception of Ramuš Haradinaj, because not a single witness survived. Gotovina was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment in first-instance procedure, while by a mysterious decision of the second instance council and 3:2 judge ratio, the verdict was changed to acquittal. Naser Orić, for crimes against Serbs, was also sentenced in first instance verdict, but by a mysterious decision of the second instance court, and again 3:2 ratio decision was an acquittal and he was set free of any liability. Let me reiterate, all witnesses in process against Ramus Haradinaj, either committed suicide or were killed under very, very strange circumstances.

Let me conclude, I do not want to believe that someone wants to say that there had been no crimes against Serbs, but judging by the verdicts of The Hague Tribunal, no one- absolutely no one- is responsible for those crimes.

Nevertheless, we in Serbia will show responsibility and we will fight for peace, stability and reconciliation in the region.

We ask UN Security Council Member States to help us with rational and pragmatic approach and respect for international law and not by attempts of further humiliation of Serbia. Serbia is a small country, with proud and courageous people, the one that gave the biggest sacrifice during the WWI and WWII; people who wants to leave in peace with their neighbors. And when I am asking you for this, I do not think I am asking for too much.

At the very end, Serbia is the fastest growing country of the Western Balkans region and we cannot progress unless our relations with neighbors, friends and other countries are good, solid and better. That is why- despite the selective justice that was applied in The Hague Tribunal- we will be open for any dialogue, any kind of cooperation and we will look towards the future and not towards the past. And I have only one message for the citizens of Serbia and citizens of Serbian nationality in the entire region- keep your heads up, neither Serbia nor Serbian people are convicted of anything and it is up to us to work even more diligently, to open factories and to fight for our children and our future.

Long Live Serbia!
 

20 May 2021

A new service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "e-Consulate" was presented in Belgrade today, intended for foreign citizens who apply for a visa and aspire to come to Serbia to work.

On that occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic said that this service was one of the indicators of good development of our country, which, as he pointed out, was becoming a magnet for serious foreign companies, which brought a large number of workers from other countries to work in Serbia.

"Not to be pretentious, but completely realistic, this service represents a turning point in the functioning of our system. E-Consulate and digitalization of the procedure for issuing work visas for foreign citizens who want to work in Serbia, is the first electronic service offered by the Foreign Ministry, and I can promise you that this is indeed our first, but by no means the last e-service", Selakovic emphasized.

The Head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that "e-Consulate" reflected the modernization of an extremely important segment of the activities of diplomatic and consular missions of Serbia, and that we were actually talking about something that was essential for the further development processes of our country.

The Minister recalled that, when the President of the Republic visited the construction site of the Moravian Corridor, he was told that some construction works were delayed because Bechtel company was not issued work visas on time.

“The moment we saw that and heard the President, I alerted the services in the Ministry. We were surprised, as we knew that the issuance of visas in Turkey had a good dynamic, and then we determined that it was actually workers from Bangladesh who applied for a visa through our Embassy in India, where we have a problem with staff shortage”, the Minister explained.

As he added, this is a demanding and laborious task, each of our employees had to receive the documentation on paper, check it, then request additional information, and only then forward it.

"Today, this has been fantastically perfected for our consular officers, all that documentation is submitted in electronic form. We used to have two filters to check the documentation, now we actually have three. And the work is significantly more efficient", Selakovic pointed out.

As he emphasized, this is a service which was promised less than four months ago and it becomes available on Monday, in 95 diplomatic and consular missions of Serbia, i.e. in all our embassies and consulates general.

The biggest result of that endeavor, the Minister pointed out, apart from the advantage it would bring in the future work, was the fact that it was not a project of one state body, but a joint endeavor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IT and eGovernment Office, General Secretariat of the

Government, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, National Employment Service.

“We did an extremely good job in record time. This is to the pride of our Ministry, to the pride of the entire state. I am convinced that in the period ahead, we will further modernize our affairs and make Serbia one of the few countries that has such mechanisms and such state-of-the-art provision of consular services", Selakovic said.

Speaking about the "e-Consulate" portal itself, the Minister explained that there is a cartoon of Nikola Tesla and the building of the old railway station with one crane, which actually symbolizes a historical fact - that Tesla was in Belgrade in the year when it was built.

"Today it is the place behind which the Belgrade of the future is rising, and what we managed to do together is an indicator of something that is the future of Serbia, the development of artificial intelligence, IT and creating conditions for more people to live and arrive here in Serbia in the future seeking good life and employment", concluded the Minister.

The Director of the Office for IT and eGovernment, Mihailo Jovanovic, said that this was the first time that e-services were focused on foreign citizens, which was the case with our citizens so far.

In the period from 1 January 2019 to 17 May this year, the most applications for Serbian visas were submitted at the Embassy in Beijing, 6,766 applications, then in New Delhi - 2,973, Shanghai 2,115, Tokyo 1,798, and Cairo 1,756.

In that period, 1,270 requests were submitted in Algiers, 1,095 in Jakarta, and 1,077 in Beirut.

In terms of their nationality, Serbian D visa for employment is most requested by citizens of China - 9,516 applications, followed by India 1,955, and Ukraine - 673.

***

8 May 2021

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic extended a congratulatory message on the occasion of 9 May, Europe Day, to High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, expressing confidence that the idea of uniting in diversity, in peace and solidarity, would continue to be the guiding idea of the European Union.

"I am deeply convinced that the Republic of Serbia, through a policy of peace and good-neighbourly cooperation, can contribute to the European Union becoming an even better place to live, with the sincere belief that our achievements on the path to membership in the European family of nations will be adequately valued", reads the congratulatory message by Minister Selakovic, adding that the European perspective gave a strong impetus for our country to comprehensively implement political, economic and social reforms with the aim of becoming a full member of the European Union in the foreseeable future.

The Serbian Foreign Minister underlined that Serbia historically, culturally and in terms of values, belonged to the circle of countries united under the flag of the European Union and expressed hope that not only our country, but also our neighbours in the Western Balkans, would have the opportunity in the near future to become a part of what is without a doubt the most successful peace, democratic and economic project in the history of our common continent.

Selakovic also took the opportunity to extend gratitude on behalf of Serbia to the European Union for its assistance in the fight against the infectious Covid-19, emphasizing that our country highly appreciated the expressed solidarity and support in the difficult times of the pandemic outbreak and expressing confidence that the period ahead would see us contribute by joint forces to identifying solutions for overcoming the economic consequences of the corona virus pandemic.

8 May 2021

President Vucic said tonight that the visionary idea of Robert Schuman brought a true victory of the new trust after the Second World War and faith in the unification of differences in peace and solidarity, with the message that Serbia has that faith, as well as hope that it will become a country that will be gladly regarded in the European family of nations.
Congratulating everyone in Serbia and the EU on Europe Day, Vucic reminded that 9 May was also the day when the great victory of freedom is celebrated, which was won with huge sacrifices.

"While the horrors of war were still fresh in memory and Europe was healing the wounds of World War II, it also had people like Robert Schuman who understood that future can only be created based on the reconciliation of nations and their unity", Vucic said at the reception on the occasion of Europe Day.

He pointed out that the European peoples dared to see the recent adversaries as future allies.
"Schuman's visionary idea that peace will be preserved, if the creative forces are commensurate with the dangers that threaten, that Europe will emerge from specific achievements, has brought a true victory of newly found trust and faith in uniting differences in peace and solidarity", Vucic said.

He said that Serbia, although it did not always look like that, had that faith, as well as the hope that our concrete achievements, on the long and not easy path to EU membership, would be adequately valued.
“And that with your help, support and criticism, Serbia will become a country that you will be happy to see in the European community of nations. I believe that with our support, help and criticism, we would also contribute to the EU becoming an even better place to live", Vucic said.

Full membership of the EU, with a compromise solution to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, is a way to achieve the goal and make Serbia orderly and successful, which would mean that we are on a good, European path, the President of Serbia said.

Vucic said that we still had to make a lot of efforts in reforms, not because someone is asking us to do that, but because we know that it brings us and the country a benefit.
He also pointed out that the reforms in the rule of law were exceptionally important, which were now being approached with much more responsibility.

"In our country, there is a race in who will say that they are more in favour of Europe, while saying under the table that they are the least for Europe. Europe does not belong only to those who would like to use European money, it does not belong to those in the government who say that they are on the European path because they believe that they are in that way preventing the opposition from coming to power, nor to those who think that this is the only way to get hold of power. It belongs to all of us, but we cannot take from Europe only what we like without accepting what we do not like", he explained.

I know, he added, how difficult it is to us in Serbia to hear criticism concerning Kosovo as well as in the field of the rule of law.

"I saw for myself that we are the ones who did not pay enough attention and apply a dedicated approach to the burning problems in that area. I believe that with greater zeal we will be able to change the attitude of the citizens of Serbia and gain greater respect from the EU for what we are doing", he pointed out.

President Vucic also pointed out that the EU was undoubtedly the largest donor, investor, and by far the most important trade partner of Serbia, and recalled that about two-thirds of all trade and even more service activities were EU related and that these were facts, whether someone liked it or not.

He pointed out that seven years ago when he became the Prime Minister, three times fewer people were employed in companies that came from EU countries than today.

"Despite all the problems, it shows how much we managed to do together and make good results, to provide people with life, security at work, to show that we can take care of them more", Vucic said, noting the great EU assistance in the field of education.

He said that during the recent visit to the EU, which he assessed as the best one so far, Serbia received additional support for infrastructure projects, primarily for modernization, i.e. essentially the construction of a new Belgrade-Nis-Presevo railway.

He said that this was confirmed in the letter of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pointing out that this was the best letter he had ever received from Brussels.

"I am grateful to Von der Leyen for pointing out that this is a game-changer in our relations. It is a turning point because that support exceeds everything we have done together when you look at the scale, strength and significance of that project", he said.

He said that Serbia and its citizens considered Europe as their home and that is why we wanted to give our best contribution to peace through regional connectivity, the Berlin Conference and mini-Schengen.
"Encouraged by the message of European officials, I hope that I will be able to host them soon so that we can discuss the further acceleration of our European path", Vucic concluded.

Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia Sem Fabrizi hosted a reception tonight on the occasion of marking 9 May, Europe Day. In addition to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the reception in the Belgrade City Assembly was attended by Serbian Parliament Speaker Ivica Dacic, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic, European Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimovic, representatives of the diplomatic corps and public figures.

Europe Day was established in memory of the beginning of the creation of the European Union (EU) and the Day of Victory over Fascism in the Second World War. The reception is held in memory of 9 May 1950, when the Schuman Declaration was signed, which laid the foundations of the European Union, a project that brought the longest period without war on the Old Continent.

Source: Tanjug
Photo: Tanjug

***

The article "Crisis and Social Justice", written by Prof. Dr. Oliver Antic, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia, was published in Diario de Noticias on May 3rd. The article can be found here.

26th April 2021

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met today in Brussels with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to discuss reforms in the rule of law, dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, but also harmonisation of Serbia's foreign policy.

At a joint press conference, President Vučić said that Serbia had managed to increase trade with the EU in the past 10 years and that today it amounts to 25 billion euros, which indicates the importance of the European Union and its members for the Serbian economy and improving the living standards of our people. Speaking about the dialogue with Priština, the President stated that Belgrade is committed to dialogue, as it has been so far, that it will be even more committed in the coming period, and that he hopes we will see the same determination on the other side.

23 April 2021

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić attended today the signing of the Financial Agreement for the second part of the IPA Action Programme for 2020. He thanked the European Union for the great support it provides to Serbia, adding that he expects an intergovernmental conference in June, at which the opening of the first negotiating cluster could take place.

"I am very pleased to be able to greet the 27 EU ambassadors and the head of the EU delegation in Belgrade and to thank them for their great support. Today we received 86 million euros in EU grants; these are funds that are earmarked for programmes and projects that were agreed in advance. These are the projects of a structural type, from the development and progress of our education, our entrepreneurship, our innovation opportunities, environmental protection, to the progress of the rule of law", said President Vučić.

President Vučić said that regarding the rule of law, he was not satisfied with the efforts made in that area, but he pointed out that in the last 25 days things were changing and that the problem was being approached with much more effort and responsibility. He added that this topic is important for Serbia to prepare for the opening of the cluster, and whether and when it will be opened will be decided by the EU member states.

He also pointed out that in order to prepare for the opening of the cluster, we will have to start the reforms of the excise policy in the energy sector faster.

"An intergovernmental conference may be held in June, we may have good news, and it is possible that there will not be good news, but it is up to us to do everything we can to bring the country closer to the EU values in the normative and fundamental sense", said President Vučić.

President Vučić thanked the European Union and its citizens and pointed out that we still have a lot of work ahead of us, and announced more important projects, the opening of factories, as well as sections of highways in the coming days.

"With seriousness and responsibility, we will look to respond to the attention you give us," he pointed out.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said that the future of Serbia is in the EU and that both the European Commission and the authorities in Belgrade are ready to work on accelerating Serbia's European path.

"The Serbian government is working hard to make progress on the European path. We now have a unique opportunity to do so, with a strong Serbian government, backed by a strong parliamentary majority. We are ready to assist faster progress and we know that Serbia is ready to move faster", Várhelyi said.

On the occasion of signing today's Financial Agreement, he emphasised that these are funds that will help Serbia's recovery, its harmonisation with EU standards and reform processes in the country in the medium and long term.

"The primary purpose of these funds is to support the economy and protect the environment", Várhelyi said, noting that the EU has invested 450 million euros in Serbia's health sector over the past two decades, building or renovating 34 hospitals and providing 280 ambulance vehicles.

The financial agreement for the second part of the IPA Action Programme for 2020 was signed by the Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimović and the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia Sem Fabrizi.

Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović assessed that today's signing represents a continuation of the work that our country has with the EU regarding the implementation and preparation of Serbia for the cohesion policy and structural funds of the Union when we become a member state.

"We have shown our capacities and knowledge, but we have also raised the visibility of those programmes", said Joksimović and thanked President Vučić who supports such events with his presence.

The money provided by today's signing is intended to support the sectors of environmental protection, energy, improving competitiveness, accessibility of public facilities, but also to support the EU to implement reform activities in the European integration process and reimburse budget costs for participation in EU programmes such as "Cosme", "Erasmus +", and "Horizon 2020".

Source: www.predsednik.rs Photo: www.predsednik.rs / Dimitrije Goll

***

21st April 2021

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić talked today via a video link with the representatives of the delegation of the International Monetary Fund led by the Head of the Mission, Jan Kees Martijn. The interlocutors concluded that Serbia's main goal remains to preserve the hard-earned reputation of a fiscally secure country, as well as to continue with a responsible fiscal policy so that public debt does not exceed 60 per cent of GDP, whereby Serbia continues to work on further economic growth.

During the conversation, President Vučić and Jan Kees Martijn especially referred to the incentive measures and adopted three packages of measures to help the economy and citizens, which preserved macroeconomic stability and even achieved a higher employment rate. Martijn commended the responsible economic policy of Serbia and the successful crisis management during the pandemic.

"Serbia achieved one of the best results last year despite the challenges of the pandemic", Martijn said, noting that Serbia was one of the few countries to which the IMF did not adjust the initial projection of the 5% growth rate it gave last year.

President Vučić added that following the first quarter of 2021, Serbia is well on its way to achieving the planned growth of 6% as planned, since one of the main focuses of the Government is investing in large infrastructure projects and intensifying work on attracting foreign direct investments.

"In 2020, Serbia was at the very top in terms of economic growth in Europe, and I am convinced that this year we can enter the first three or four countries in terms of growth", said President Vučić, adding that he was satisfied that Serbia still, despite the pandemic situation, has an extremely strong inflow of investment.

President Vučić and Jan Kees Martijn also discussed a new advisory arrangement, which is of special importance in light of the improvement of the general investment climate in Serbia, as well as in the context of even greater investor assurance.

"Given Serbia's tremendous progress over the past eight years, the priority goal of this arrangement will be to preserve the results achieved, but also to provide support for further implementation of structural reforms aimed at even faster, stronger and more sustainable growth", said President Vučić and thanked the IMF and the personal engagement of Jan Kees Martijn in the professional and expert support that Serbia is counting on.

President Vučić pointed out that Serbia will pay special attention to reforms in public companies, and that priorities will continue to be investments in infrastructure, creating an even better climate for investments, greater investments in the environment, science and capital projects, which will further contribute to the long term stable financial growth in the coming years.

Source: www.predsednik.rs Photo: www.predsednik.rs

***

20th April 2021

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met today with the Regional Director of the World Health Organisation for Europe Hans Kluge, to discuss cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as cooperation in improving health care in our country and other joint activities.

President Vučić thanked Dr Kluge for his personal engagement and support during the current pandemic, especially for technical assistance and expertise. On this occasion, he informed the WHO official about the results of immunisation in Serbia and plans on how to provide the vaccine to all citizens who want to get it.

Dr Kluge congratulated President Vučić on his leadership and personal commitment to provide vaccines. He emphasised that Serbia, with its good immunisation strategy, ranked among the global leaders, thus becoming an example of humanity and solidarity by enabling vaccination of elderly people in rural areas, foreign citizens and donating vaccines to other countries.

"Serbia has accepted the vaccine as a life-saving product and has not looked at it geopolitically", said Dr Kluge.

The two interlocutors agreed that the world should increase production capacities for vaccines, as well as develop new adequate therapies for the fight against COVID-19, and, in this regard, work on increasing the level of citizens' trust in science.

President Vučić informed Dr Kluge about the plans for improving the work of the Institute for Virology, Vaccines and Sera "Torlak".

"We want to make 'Torlak' one of the best vaccine factories in Europe", said President Vučić.

Source: www.predsednik.rs Photo: www.predsednik.rs

***

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selakovic stated today that Pristina further persisted in its campaign of hatred against the Serbian people, which was most drastically seen in the unfounded accusations of mass rapes and genocide.

At the UN Security Council meeting discussing the Report of the UN Secretary-General on the work of UNMIK, Selakovic emphasized that the efforts of the provisional institutions in Kosovo and Metohija to create a narrative about mass rapes of Albanian women were obvious, and that propaganda methods and lies were used for that purpose.

"It is clear that there were victims on all sides in the conflict, as well as that our side has evidence of numerous Serb victims. But the precondition for ensuring the protection of rights that belong to each individual victim is a rational and well-argued approach", Selakovic said responding to the slander of the Pristina representative.

Selakovic underlined that, contrary to the claims of politicians from Pristina about 20,000 raped Albanian women, the information provided by the Commission for the Verification and Recognition of Sexual Violence Victim Status indicates 912 raped persons, however, failing to include in this number the Serb women who were victims of violence.

"Let me emphasize that Serbia condemns every act of sexual violence in conflicts and is committed to achieving justice for all victims. The number of victims certainly does not diminish the horrific effect of this type of violence on each victim individually, but also, speculating on numbers does not contribute to justice being served and leads to politicization and slowing down the reconciliation process", Selakovic said.

Regarding the genocide accusations, Minister Selakovic stated that they only went to prove that Pristina further persisted in its campaign of hatred, propaganda and open hostility towards the Serbian people.

"Through statements given on a daily basis, they attempt to paint a picture that Serbia is to blame for everything and that genocide was committed against Albanians, all in order to hide their own responsibility for the committed crimes", the Serbian Foreign Minister said.

He underlined that anyone who knew what the definition of genocide implied would understand that it was not Serbia that committed something, but that the Serbian people was instead a victim of the "state-building" project of the Kosovo Albanians, based on the dangerous idea of ethnically clean territories, as evidenced by more than 200,000 expelled Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija.

"We are convinced that the civilized world will not agree to be their accomplice in concealing and covering up their crimes, and that a clear message will be sent to them that they must take responsibility for their actions", Selakovic said.

He reminded that until 1999, around 40,000 Serbs lived in Pristina, and that today there were only about twenty of them, that around 17,000 Serbs lived in Pec, and that today there were only the Serbian nuns in the Patriarchate of Pec, that around 12,000 Serbs lived in Prizren before the war, and that today only 17 families remained there, and that in Urosevac, out of 10,000 Serbs who lived there before the war, only the family of a Serbian priest remained.

***

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selakovic warned, at the United Nations Security Council meeting, that the political extremism among Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija was not decreasing, but on the contrary, was becoming stronger.

At the meeting discussing the Report of the UN Secretary-General on the work of UNMIK, Minister Selakovic recalled that the obligation to form the Community of Serb Municipalities remained unfulfilled for 2,917 days now and that, in fact, 19 April marked eight full years since the agreement was reached in Brussels, while Pristina still refused to follow up on its commitment and enable the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities.

Article about the process of vaccination in Serbia, written by Prof. Dr. Oliver Antic, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia, published in Diario de Notisias, 8 April 2021 can be found here . 

***

We would like to inform you that the development of an online app for submitting an application for a type D visa, which will be integrated into the existing system and will significantly facilitate the work on visa applications, is in its final stages. Through this application, it will be possible to apply for type D visas, in the first phase exclusively for employment in the Republic of Serbia. Applicants will be able to access the application electronically, fill in the application and attach (scan) the necessary documents, as well as proof of payment of the designated fee.

***

The article “Greece celebrates 200 Years of Independence”, written by Prof. Dr. Oliver Antic, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia, published in Diario de Notisias, can be found here.

***

24 March 2021

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic made a statement on the occasion of marking the Day of Remembrance of the victims of the NATO aggression.

The number of sectors in the Republic of Serbia have a huge investment potential.  

More information about the conditions for investment in Serbia can be found in the Publication of the the Development Agency of Serbia (RAS) on the following link: https://ras.gov.rs/uploads/2021/03/why-invest-2021.pdf

***

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic participated today in the commemoration of the Remembrance Day of 17 March 2004 - Pogrom in Kosovo and Metohija. He said that exactly 17 years ago, a pogrom took place in Kosovo and Metohija, and that pogrom surpassed all other crimes.

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest, these words of Elie Wiesel, a camp survivor and Nobel laureate, make it forever incumbent upon us not to remain silent against crime, regardless of who and for what reason committed it", President Vucic stated and added that we remembered and learned every lesson in which we were losers, each one in which we were silent to our own victims, and each one when we were ready to forget.

"Serbia is no longer weak today, nor is it a country of losers, it does not threaten, but it does not forget either, it is ready for talks, but not for humiliation. Serbia, just like everyone else, has the right to take care of its people, their safety and well-being. The right to life is a fundamental human right and we will always defend it", President Vucic said.

President Vucic said that pogrom surpasses all other crimes, because it is not only an act, but an intention, a policy, a premediated attempt to forcibly cleanse persons belonging to other peoples and faiths from a region or a country.

"We have no right to remain silent to that", said the President of Serbia, emphasizing that we have an obligation to be winners without blood spilled and war, to be the best in the economy, healthcare, sports, education and everything else that implies development and progress.

"We also wish others to work on themselves and be successful, because we are aware that crime is a tool for losers that winners do not need, as they remember, but forgive and move on, while the losers keep spinning in the same vicious circle. We Serbs do not want to be that anymore, we want a future in which we will remember, but from which we will not return. We know what happened and we call it by its real name", President Vucic concluded.

Photo: Dimitrije Goll

***

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met today with the Head of the Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Sam Fabrizi, to discuss the continuation of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges in the mass vaccination process.

Republic of Serbia, as an associate member of the Francophonie, together with the entire Francophone community in the world, marks the "Month of the Francophonie". For all lovers of Serbian culture and the French language, the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia has prepared a rich program, and the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Lisbon invites you to discover the diversity and richness of Serbian culture in French.

***

8 March 2021

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selakovic said today that the fight against all forms of crime was a top priority of the Serbian Government and an integral part of the EU accession process.

"It is also our moral duty, in order to leave a better world for the generations to come", Selakovic said participating via video-link at the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Kyoto.

The article “Freedom, Justice and Equality are Part of the Civilizational Heritage of Serbia”, written by Prof. Dr. Oliver Antic, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia and published in Diplomática, can be found here.

***

18 February 2021

The Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected His Eminence Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb-Ljubljana, PhD, as the new Serbian Patriarch, in its convocation in Memorial Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade on 18 February 2021.

Immediately after the election a thanksgiving service was officiated and Many Years was chanted to the Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch Porfirije. Bells at Saint Sava Cathedral in the Vracar district of Belgrade rang a few minutes before 4:00 pm indicating that the 46th Patriarch of Serbia was elected.

The video on the occasion of the

National Day of Republic of Serbia

can be found here.

SPEECH OF
H.E. THE AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA IN LISBON OLIVER ANTIĆ
ON THE OCCASION OF THE NATIONAL DAY OF SERBIA,
FEBRUARY 15, 2021

Dear Representatives of Portuguese Official Entities,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Portugal,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends:

First of all, I would like to thank you for your presence here today, although not physical, when we celebrate the National Day of the Republic of Serbia.

Serbia is a very old State. About 800 years ago, it became a Kingdom when Stefan Nemanja, the first sovereign after many grand princes, was crowned King in 1217. It was Pope Honorius III who sent his legacy with the crown to be given to Stefan. Years later, his brother, St. Sava, the first Archbishop of Serbia, crowned him again (according to the orthodox protocol).

Stefan I of Serbia was thus proclaimed King by papal bull, as D. Afonso Henriques was 38 years earlier, in 1179, by Pope Alexander III (out of curiosity, the one who was present in Paris when the angle stone of the Nôtre-Dame cathedral was laid).

Recently, on 27 January, in Belgrade, President Aleksandar Vučić inaugurated a magnificent monument to the father of Stefan I of Serbia, called also Stefan Nemanja, Grand Prince of Serbia, canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church as Saint Simeon, the Blessed One or the Mirra Exhaler, a determined ruler, who is depicted holding a sword in his right hand and the Hilandar Charter in his left hand.

The first constitution of the Kingdom of Serbia and the highest code of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Nomocanon of Saint Sava, completed in 1219 (year of the independence of our Church from the Byzantine Patriarchate of Constantinople) was accepted in Bulgaria, Romania and Russia, as a source of law. It was printed and applied in Russia, even as early as the 17th century.

The Nomocanon was considered a divine law and was implemented together with the famous code of Emperor Dusan, in the 14th century, when Serbia became an Empire. Dusan’s Code foresaw, 400 years before Montesquieu, the separation of powers, constituting a unique case in the Middle Ages as judicial power was not in the hands of the Ruler.

But, our National Day commemorates the SRETENJE Constitution of 1835, approved on 14-15 February in a State Assembly, that remained in force for only two weeks and which, being too modern and liberal, had the opposition of the three most influential Balkan powers at that time - the Ottoman, the Russian and the Austro-Hungarian Empires. The SRETENJE Constitution was the first Serbian Constitution after the Ottoman wars and brought freedom not only to the Serbs.

Today, I very much welcome the very good bilateral relations between Serbia and Portugal, which celebrate its 139th jubilee this year. The Kingdom of Serbia established relations with the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves when there were all together 11 States in Europe. Proof of the good relations was the presidential state visit, the official visit to Portugal by the Serbian Minister for Foreign Affairs and the unofficial visit by the Prime Minister in recent years.

Long Live Serbia!
Long Live Portugal!

National Antem of the Republic of Serbia

President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Army Aleksandar Vucic attended a demonstration of capabilities of one part of Serbian Army units in the "Rastko Nemanjić" barracks in Pancevo. On this occasion, President Vucic stated that Serbia was ready to continue the EU-facilitated dialogue with Pristina at any point, while respecting also the position of the United States as well as the positions of Russia and China.

The President said that he would rather put his "head on the chopping block" than sign any document with a recognition and reminded that he had already once refused to do so in Washington, where there were two versions of the agreement.

He stated that he immediately had his delegation leave the meeting, that he told the U.S. delegation that Serbia would not sign such an agreement, while conveying that Serbia would always endeavour to hold peaceful talks in order to preserve peace, but that it would not take any humiliation.

The Serbian President thanked the U.S. President Joe Biden for the letter of congratulations on the occasion of the upcoming Statehood Day, in which, in addition to the usual emphasis on commitment to promoting economic cooperation, regional stability and democratic values, he unequivocally called for mutual recognition of Serbia and "Kosovo" as a result.

Mutual recognition between Serbia and "Kosovo" is not part of any act of any world organization, the President pointed out and reiterated that Serbia was ready to continue the EU-facilitated dialogue with Pristina at any point, while respecting also the position of the United States as well as the positions of Russia and China.

According to the president, the situation is difficult and will only be increasingly difficult.

"As I told you three days ago, I can see it and I expect it, I can see the situation slowly tightening, because the conflicts between them at the global level have been increasing and intensifying, and then we have to pay the price", the President said.

President Vucic said that said that it was up to our state to continue strengthening the country in the economic sense.

The President added that the role of the army was very important in the highly complex security and political conditions of the modern world, and that was why Serbia needed to do everything it could to deter any potential aggressor and attacks on citizens and the country.

"The policy of strengthening the armed forces will continue at a faster pace", the President emphasized, adding that the goal was for the Serbian Army to play a stabilizing role with regard to the political developments in the region.

According to him, it should be clear to everyone that Serbia was not a punching bag and that not everyone could attack and threaten it like it was the case in the past.

Vucic said that he was pleased with what he saw and that a lot had been done in the previous period, pointing out that the salaries of military personnel would be significantly increased as of April.

President Vucic also stated that investments in the Serbian Army would continue, whom he told that he expected the Army to continue to be the guardian of our country, its integrity and freedom.

"We expect you to be the guardians of our country, its integrity and freedom, the defenders of our people, the guardians of the homeland, the protectors of the interests of the state of Serbia and to be a deterrent factor for every aggressor and anyone who might consider attacking Serbia", Vucic said.

The military exercise called "Spearhead" demostrated the capabilities of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade, and the event, which the President of Serbia and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Army assessed as very good, was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojsa Stefanovic and Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Milan Mojsilovic.

Photo: Presidency of Serbia / Dimitrije Goll

Belgrade,

7 February 2021

***

Belgrade,

4th February 2021

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met earlier today with the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, Ambassador Sem Fabrizi, to discuss Serbia's European path, continuation fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, implementation of political and economic reforms, with particular emphasis on the rule of law and plans for new EU investments in our country.

President Vučić thanked the EU for its support to Serbia in structural reforms and economic measures and the EU investments in our country. The President especially expressed hope that the first contingents of vaccines from the COVAX programme promoted by the European Union will arrive soon.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic had talks today with Ambassador of Portugal Maria Virgínia Mendes da Silva Pina.

Minister Selakovic stated that the bilateral relations were traditionally friendly, matched by good cooperation at all levels, and assessed that there was significant potential for their promotion in many areas.

Selakovic expressed an expectation that the intensity of political dialogue and the dynamic of bilateral visits would increase, and took the opportunity to extend an invitation to Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva for a visit to Serbia.

The Serbian Foreign Minister congratulated Portugal on taking over Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of this year and expressed hope that the topic of enlargement would be on the agenda of their presidency.

We highly appreciate the continuous support of your country to Serbia's European integration process, and we hope that the Portuguese Presidency will advocate for further progress of Serbia in this regard, Selakovic emphasized.

Discussing economic cooperation between the two countries, Minister Selakovic pointed out the necessity of its further strengthening and underlined agriculture, IT sector, energy and waste management as areas suitable for the intensification of economic relations. Furthermore, the Head of Serbian diplomacy invited Portuguese investors to increase their presence on the Serbian market in the period ahead.

Belgrade,

4 February 2021

***

In accordance with the new strategy and the improvement of the work of the Consular service, in the initial phase of the introduction of electronic visa applications, the parties will be able to pay the visa issuance fee electronically.

Payment details for visa fee can be found here.

***

26 January 2021

Serbia's foreign policy positions are naturally being adjusted to the new developments at the international level, but our foreign policy priorities have not changed in a long time. Our top and most important interest is to preserve good-neighbourly relations and stability and peace in the region and, in the same context, to find a peaceful and just solution to the problems in Kosovo and Metohija, Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said in an interview with Politika daily.

Another lasting interest of ours is full membership of the European Union, because this is the type of society we strive for. At the bilateral level, our goal is to strengthen ties with traditional friends, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, but also to build new partner relations with the United States. One of the most important tasks of our foreign policy is to improve the position and protect the rights and identity of our people in the region, as well as to provide various types of support to Serbs in the diaspora. All these are very important and more often than not complementary goals, Nikola Selakovic pointed out.

Belgrade,
12 January 2021

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic pointed out that Serbia is the first in Europe in terms of economic growth, which will be officially confirmed at the end of March, and that this was possible owing to the reform measures taken since 2014 and the rapid opening of the country after the first wave of corona virus.

The President pointed out that Serbia had a growth of 5.2 percent in the first quarter, while the Eurozone was at minus 3.2 percent, in the second quarter Serbia had a growth of minus 6.3 percent, while the Eurozone was at minus 14.7 percent, and in the third quarter, when the Eurozone was at minus 4.3 percent, Serbia's figure was only minus 1.4 percent.
Vucic stated that Montenegro, for example, recorded as much as 26 percent minus in the third quarter.

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met earlier today with the Ambassador of the Republic of Portugal to Serbia, Maria Virginia Mendes da Silva Pina, to discuss the priorities of the six-month Portuguese presiding over the European Union Council.

During the meeting, President Vučić pointed out that Serbia remains committed to its European path and reforms and cooperation with the European Union institutions. "Serbia provides full support and contribution to all projects implemented by the EU both in Serbia and in the Western Balkans region", President Vučić said. He offered full cooperation of Serbia in strengthening the capacity to react to public health crises.

President Vučić expressed hope that during the six months of the Portuguese presidency, the European Union will overcome the challenges and achieve its priority goals, including the economic recovery of the EU and getting out of the crisis. "I also hope that Portugal, during its presidency, will put emphasis on the enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkans," added President Vučić.

Discussing the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, the two interlocutors expressed their support for the efforts of Miroslav Lajčak in the negotiation process.

Ambassador Mendes da Silva Pina emphasised that the main motto of the Portuguese presidency was "the time for a just, green and digital recovery" and added that her country would make efforts to mark the beginning of a new cycle in Europe in the next six months, given the difficulties and challenges that COVID-19 pandemic imposed on the European Union, Serbia and the whole world. She pointed out the strengthening of the social model as a central topic of the presidency, to encourage citizens' trust in the European Union.

Ambassador Mendes da Silva Pina congratulated President Vučić on the achieved economic results, which last year proved to have been better than in many EU member states.

Belgrade,

4th January 2021

***

3 January 2021

Our compatriots living abroad are one of the great potentials that the state has not recognized in the right way so far, which is why a different approach is needed to the issue of how to strengthen our diaspora and use the good will of people who are potential lobbyists for the interests of Serbia and the Serbian people, Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said.

2 January 2021

This year, Serbia could finally have Ambassadors and Consuls General appointed to about a third of the currently vacant positions in the country's diplomatic and consular missions in the world, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic is convinced that most of these positions will be filled, as he points out, by the best possible people.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia wishes you a Happy New Year

The video can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lBa_AWOSjY

***

29 December 2020

Preservation of peace, taking care of the health and better living standard are key for Serbia in 2021, underlined President of the Republic Aleksandar Vucic, convinced that even though the completion of this ambitious and by no means easy task will be anything but straightforward, best results can be achieved by working in concert with the Government, while ensuring security and a future of certainty for the citizens.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabic received today the first vaccine against the coronavirus made by Pfizer company, at the Torlak Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic had talks today via video link with Head of EU Delegation in Serbia Sem Fabrizi and Ambassadors of the EU Member States.

On this occasion, the Serbian Foreign Minister emphasized that full membership of the EU remained one of the key foreign policy priorities of the Serbian Government, and that the European integration process was a strategic goal also aimed at promoting the quality of the society.

Minister Selakovic pointed out that Serbia was ready for an acceleration of the accession process' dynamic which is why it accepted the new methodology in the first place, and that it is now hoping that it will, in the period ahead, receive clearer guidelines on its implementation in the negotiating process.

The Minister said that Serbia has taken a number of important steps forward in the reform process, which were not fully reflected in the European Commission's Annual Progress Report.

The Minister reminded that our country opened 18 out of 35 negotiating chapters with the EU since 2014, provisionally closing two, and that it is at this point ready to open five new chapters.

Discussing the talks between Belgrade and Pristina, Minister Selakovic noted that the only right path towards a sustainable agreement was through dialogue and compromise.

He explained that it was necessary that topics of the talks include the issues being ignored by Pristina for years, despite having committed to them under the Brussels Agreement, such as the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities.

The Minister added that Serbia is deeply devoted to regional cooperation and that, as an important country of the region aiming to contribute to overall stability, our side has through its steps, among others, significantly contributed to decreasing the tensions with Montenegro.

Minister Selakovic also said that Serbia was very grateful to the EU and its Member States for the financial assistance, particularly amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Belgrade, 16 December 2020

***

The Serbian government stated that at a meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council between Serbia and the EU held today, the overall progress achieved in Serbia's accession negotiations so far was commended, as well as the adoption of an improved enlargement methodology that should accelerate Serbia's EU accession process.

The participants in the meeting exchanged opinions on the current political and socio-economic situation in Serbia, and above all on the further dynamics of negotiations on EU accession, cooperation within the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as well as regional cooperation in the Western Balkans.

Accordingly, they welcomed the fact that the new government has placed European integration, preserving public health and economic growth, as well as normalising relations with Pristina at the top of its priority list.

At the meeting held via video link due to the pandemic, the Serbian delegation was led by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic.

The EU delegation was headed by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Oliver Varhelyi.

Borrell especially expressed gratitude for the participation of Prime Minister Brnabic, which is not the usual format, but which unequivocally shows how much importance the Serbian government attaches to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and Serbia's European path.

The interlocutors discussed current relations between Serbia and the European Union, primarily the process of Serbia's accession to the EU, as well as political and economic criteria, harmonisation of domestic legislation with the EU acquis, as well as the implementation of the EU pre-accession assistance.

The EU representatives reiterated the EU's commitment to Serbia's European future and called for proactive and strategic communication between Serbia and the EU.

During the meeting, they also talked about the way in which Serbia is facing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of resolving the health crisis and in overcoming the consequences for the economy in general and the implementation of reforms.

The participants agreed that good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation are key elements of the enlargement process, and to that end welcomed the continued dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and Serbia's consistent commitment to the process.

The EU representatives welcomed Serbia's significant contribution to military missions and operations, as well as Serbia's participation in EU battle groups, stressing the importance of further deepening cooperation on foreign policy issues.

The participants in the meeting also supported the Common Regional Market, launched by Western Balkan leaders at a summit in Sofia on 10 November, and recalled that the Western Balkans Economic and Investment Plan, adopted by the European Commission on 6 October 2020, provides a comprehensive framework to support economic convergence of Serbia and the EU region.

Belgrade, 17 December 2020

***

Belgrade, 15 December 2020

Today, the government of the Republic of Serbia adopted new measures proposed by the COVID-19 crisis response team at yesterday's session, which will take effect on Sunday, 20 December.

The new measures refer to the entry of both domestic and foreign citizens into our country. Bearing in mind the New Year's and Christmas holidays, a traditionally higher frequency of people is expected at all border crossings.

In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, early detection of infected persons and protection of the health of all residents of Serbia, the government has adopted the following measures:

Entry into Serbia will be allowed only with a negative PCR test, not older than 48 hours. Citizens of Serbia, who do not have a negative PCR test, must be in home isolation for 10 days. They can be tested in Serbia and if their PCR test is negative, they will no longer be required to be in home isolation.

***

Belgrade, 15 December 2020

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic talked today with Ambassador of Portugal to Serbia Maria da Silva Pina about the bilateral relations of the two countries and the European integration of Serbia in the light of Portugal’s chairmanship of the Council of the European Union, which starts in January 2021.

Brnabic pointed out that membership in the European Union is a priority of the government, and accelerated work in the field of rule of law and judicial reform is the focus this and next year.

Da Silva Pina expressed her belief that the new methodology of negotiations will contribute to the acceleration of the process of European integration of Serbia.

As for the enlargement policy, Ambassador Da Silva Pina stated that Portugal will advocate progress in the integration of the Western Balkans region.

Da Silva Pina praised the success of Serbia in maintaining the stability of the economy in the difficult conditions of the epidemic and pointed out that these are the results of good economic policy and difficult reforms that the state has implemented in the previous period.

***

Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has held a video meeting today with Michael Roth, the Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office. They have discussed the current epidemiological situation in the two countries and the EU, as well as Serbia’s European integration process.

On the occasion of 10 December, the international Human Rights Day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia reaffirms its commitment to the principles and values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on this day in 1948.

The principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have been the foundation for the development of international law in this field, and of the international system for the promotion and protection of human rights, as a unique achievement of modern civilization. It is incumbent upon us today to safeguard and strengthen the international system ensuring respect for human rights, to develop human rights standards, control the implementation of commitments, and also to continue cooperating with international and regional institutions on the protection of human rights.

Serbia is fully committed to the universal values of human rights and implementing in practice the international legal instruments relating to human rights. Our continued cooperation with the Human Rights Council mechanisms in the framework of the United Nations, with the Council of Europe and the mechanisms of the OSCE human dimension, represents an important segment of activities carried out by all state authorities, thus demonstrating our consistent commitment to the implementation of international human rights standards.

The international Human Rights Day is an opportunity to point out once again that Serb and other non-Albanian population is being deprived of its rights in Kosovo and Metohija and to call again on the international community to ensure the respect for the guaranteed international human rights norms and contribute to creating conditions for the return of internally displaced persons and giving them back their usurped property.

***

President meets the ambassadors of the EU member states accredited to Serbia and the head of the European Union Delegation

The President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met today the ambassadors of EU Member States accredited to Serbia and the Head of the EU Delegation Sem Fabrizi in the Palace of Serbia, to talk to them about topics such as dynamics of the accession negotiations between Serbia and EU, stability in the region, regional projects, as well as the Economic and Investment Plan presented by the European Commission together with the Enlargement package.

Article “Jihadists and International relations” written by Prof. Dr. Oliver Antic, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia published in Diario de Noticias on 4 December 2020 can be found here . 

***

Following the passing away of His Holiness the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch Irinej, a virtual Book of Condolences has been opened at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Lisbon.

The condolences may be sent through the E-mail serviaemba@netcabo.pt or by post to the Embassy's address: Embassy of the Republic of Serbia, Rua Alcolena 11, Lisbon 1400-004.

***

The article of Ambassador Oliver Antic under the title "Post-truth: Kosovo thanks 6000 soldiers who helped peace", has been published, on 22 October 2020, in the Diario d Notisias. 

You can find the article here.

The english version of the article can be found here.

***

With the aim of promoting the Republic of Serbia as a favorable destination for business and investment in research and development and new technologies, we enclose herewith link where you find brochures: "SERBIA - Emerging tech development hub" and "Guide to measures to support the development of innovative economy" :

https://innovations.serbiacreates.rs/

***

Serbian representatives participated and achieved significant results at 2020 Laser 4.7 Youth European Championships in sailing that took place in Vilamoura, Portugal, from 14 to 21 August 2020. 

The entry of foreign citizens to the Republic of Serbia has been regulated by the decision which the Government of Serbia passed in order to prevent spreading of contagious diseases to the country's territory. In line with the Government's decision, the entry procedure for foreign citizens is as follows:

Foreign citizens entering the Republic of Serbia from the Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Bulgaria, Romania and the Republic of Croatia are allowed to enter the Republic of Serbia if they have a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours, issued by the referent national laboratory of the country they are coming from, i.e. entering the territory of Serbia from.

Serbian citizens arriving from these countries are exempted from thе afore-mentioned conditions when entering the Republic of Serbia.

The following categories of foreign citizens are exempted from the afore-mentioned conditions when entering the Republic of Serbia from one of these four countries:

1) foreign citizens transiting through the territory of the Republic of Serbia, such as:
crews on freight motor vehicles in international transport road traffic. In case of international freight transit by road traffic, the same shall be limited to a period of up to 12 hours from the time of entry into the territory of the Republic of Serbia;
flight crew and cabin crew on aircraft with the Republic of Serbia as end destination, or transiting via international airports in the Republic of Serbia;

2) accredited staff members of foreign diplomatic and consular missions and international organizations' offices, including their family members holding special identity cards, i.e., identification documents issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Secretariat of the Government;

3) children of up to 12 years of age, if the parent, legal guardian or a person from the family household who is accompanying the child has a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours;

4) foreign citizens with a leave to stay or permanently settle in the Republic of Serbia.

Foreign citizens entering the territory of the Republic of Serbia from other destinations (other than North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia) are allowed to enter the Republic of Serbia in line with the hitherto procedure, i.e. they are not obliged to have a negative PCR test, nor shall they be required to remain in self-isolation.

The cited decision by the Government of Serbia abolishes previous measures regarding the entry of Montenegrin citizens to the Republic of Serbia from Montenegro.

***
 

The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia reopened its Consular section for new visa applicants. 

We kindly ask all applicants visiting the Consular section to follow the basic sanitary rules due to post-COVID-19 situation (wearing a mask and gloves, 2m distance, scheduling a meeting in advance). 

***

Article “Reading Dostoevky”, written by Prof. Dr. Oliver Antic, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia was published in Diario de Noticias on 22.May 2020.

***

The Government of the Republic of Serbia passed the Decision on termination of the Decision on closing all border crossings for entry into the Republic of Serbia, as well as the Decision on amendments to the Decision on declaring the disease COVID - 19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 infectious disease.

With the mentioned decisions, which entry into force today, 22 May, 2020, all border crossings of the Republic of Serbia have been opened and from today function in the usual regime for all categories of Serbian and foreign citizens.

Epidemiological measures for all categories of Serbian and foreign citizens have been abolished. Instead of previous measures (home isolation and the obligation to have a negative PCR test), passengers will be given a written notice, during passport control - a health warning about the measures to be followed to prevent the spread infectious diseases of COVID-19.

***

The celebration of the National Day of the Republic of Serbia took place on 17 February at the premises of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Lisbon, in Restelo. The reception was attended by around 200 guests, representatives of the diplomatic corps, political and public life in Portugal, as well as our diaspora.

Ambassador Oliver Antic participated at the New Years reception organized by the President of the Republic of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Portugal 

Decision on visa free entry to the Republic of Serbia

At its meeting of 30 October 2014, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Decision on visa free entry to the Republic of Serbia for holders of foreign passports having a valid Schengen, UK and other EU member States' visa, or visa of the United States of America, and for holders of foreign passports having residence permit in the countries of the Schengen area, EU or the United States of America, which entered into force on 8 November 2014.

In Lisbon, on 7th of January, the Christmas liturgy was being held in the Serbian Ortodox Church in Belem. Ambassador Oliver Antić, other representatives of the Embassy of Serbia as well as the members of Serbian diaspora in Portugal were present at the liturgy.  

The National Bank of the Republic of Serbia has prepared a Financial Guide for Returnees, which seeks to improve the information for our citizens who wish to return to the Republic of Serbia, from the aspect of foreign exchange regulations, and in an effort to create conditions for their easier return and faster integration, as well as for easier management of their financial resources. The aim of these activities is to provide, in one place, all the information regarding most foreign exchange issues that are significant for the return of our citizens from abroad, in accordance with the law on foreign exchange. The financial guide can be accessed through the website of the National Bank of Serbia through the following link:

https://www.nbs.rs/internet/english/20/dev/finansijski_vodic_za_povratnike_e.pdf

http://www.nbs.rs/internet/latinica/20/plp/finansijski_vodic_za_povratnike.pdf

On 3rd December 2019, the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia Lisbon hosted a reception for the delegation that, organized by the UN Women Serbia, was on a study visit in Lisbon, from 2nd  to 6th  December 2019. 

The Republic of Serbia, with 155 votes of UNESCO Member States, has been re - elected as a member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the term 2019-2023, at the elections held on 20th November 2019, during the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference.
 

Ambassador of Serbia in Lisbon Oliver Antic participated, together with dr Jovo Lojanica, President of the Serbian Quality Management and Business Excellence Association (SRMEK), at the closing session of the 63rd Congress of European organization for quality during which Republic of Serbia was presented as an organizer of the 64rd Congress of European organization for quality that will be held in Belgrade, 16 – 17 June 2020.
 

Ambassador Oliver Antic attended the farewell reception, on 27 June, of the Ambassador of Holy See in Portugal, Rino Passigato, during which occasion he thanked Nuncio Apostolico for cooperation and personal frienship. Serbia appreciates principal position of the Holy See of non – recognizing so – called “Kosovo”.

Authors' text of Ambassador Oliver Antić in the Public, "The Brexit problem is much more complex than it is thought", April 9. 2019.

S.E., the President of the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Evaristo Carvalho, received the credentials of the representative of the Republic of Serbia, HE Ambassador Oliver Antic, on 21 February 2019 at the Presidential Palace in Sao Tome.

The celebration of the National Day of the Republic of Serbia took place on 18 February at the premises of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Lisbon, in Restelo. The reception was attended by more than 100 guests, representatives of the diplomatic corps, political and public life in Portugal, as well as our diaspora.

During the reception, Ambassador O. Antic handed the Golden Medal to Joao Soares for the services granted by President Aleksandar Vucic.

The President of the Republic presented the award for the IBM Scientific Prize to the winner of this edition, the Serbian researcher Marija Vranic.

New Year greetings from the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Portugal, Ajuda National Palace  14.01.2019

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Foi publicado no Publico de dia 01 de Diecembro de 2018 um artigo de opinião do Senhor Embaixador da Sérvia, Prof. Doutor Oliver Antiċ, intituladoFascismo - Um Alerta, de Madeleine Albright.

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Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabić and Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Kosta

The Executive Secretary of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Maria do Carmo Silveira, received the representative of the Republic of Serbia from the CPLP, Oliver Antic, to receive credentials on October 18, 2018, at the Conde Palace of Penafiel, in Lisbon.

19-20. April 2018. Long tradition of diplomatic relations with Portugal and wish to step up cooperation in all fields

• Because the request for its membership is a serious breach of the international law, the Constitution of UNESCO, the legally binding UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and the Charter of the UN whose Article 25 says that „The Members of the UN agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter“...

The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Lisbon informs that on 1st August 2013 it will start to accept requests for issuing  biometric passports of the Republic of Serbia. To schedule an appointment, please contact the Embassy by telephone or e-mail.

Decision on visa free entry to the Republic of Serbia

At its meeting of 30 October 2014, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Decision on visa free entry to the Republic of Serbia for holders of foreign passports having a valid Schengen, UK and other EU member States' visa, or visa of the United States of America, and for holders of foreign passports having residence permit in the countries of the Schengen area, EU or the United States of America, which entered into force on 8 November 2014.

By this decision, the above-mentioned categories of foreign nationals may, without prior visa application, enter, transit or stay in the Republic of Serbia up to 90 days during a six-month period, but not exceeding the expiring date of the said visas or residence permits.

Foreign nationals, holders of a residence permit in the form of a separate card (not a sticker affixed to their passport), must present their valid passport, upon entering the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

Please note that a visa is required for holders of emergency travel documents and travel documents for refugees and aliens of all countries. Nationals from UN Member States with which the Republic of Serbia has no diplomatic relations need visas for entering the country.

- Entering Republic of Serbia

- How to obtain the visa for RS

- Visa regime

- Information for Foreigners

More information
For further information, please contact Consular Section of the Embassy.