Djuric: Serbia focuses on ties with international community and above all, EU

THE HAGUE - In the past years, Serbia has focused on boosting its economic growth and infrastructure construction, as well as on renewing its relations with countries in the international community and, above all, with the EU, Serbian FM Marko Djuric said at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael on Monday.

Djuric said the Serbian government had set EU membership as its key strategic priority, proclaiming a very ambitious goal of carrying out all institutional reforms in Serbia, and added that the focus on that objective would not be lost in spite of protests in the country.

The goal is to carry out legislative reforms as well as other social reforms necessary for EU accession by December 31, 2026, Djuric said.

"With that aim, the government adopted a very ambitious reform programme a few months ago and began to work on implementation. The focus on EU accession will not be lost despite the fact that, on the internal political front in Serbia, we have mass protests, mostly student and civic ones, caused by the November 1 tragic overhang collapse at the Novi Sad railway station," Djuric said.