Bilcik Urges Serbian Politicians to Commit Themselves to Reforms, Interparty Talks to Start on March 1

Vladimir Bilcik (Photo: YouTube)

Vladimir Bilcik, the European Parliament’s (EP) rapporteur for Serbia, has called on the politicians in Serbia to unequivocally devote themselves to reforms the country has to adopt in order to move forward on its EU path and announced that the inter-party dialogue with EU mediation will begin on March 1.

“I call on all politicians in Serbia to unequivocally dedicate themselves to reforms, chiefly those concerning the judiciary and freedom of the media, as well as the alignment with EU’s foreign policies. A lot has been accomplished, but much more still needs to be done,” Bilcik said for the RTS public service in the evening on Feb. 24.

Following the adoption of his report on Serbia by the EP’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), Bilcik said that the document “acknowledges all that has been accomplished until now, especially the constructive role Belgrade has assumed in the talks with Pristina.”

One of the main messages of the report is that the EP is ready to help Serbia in mending the conditions for the political competition in the country.

“We’re launching the inter-party dialogue in talks with Serbian National Assembly Speaker Ivica Dacic on March 1. The European Parliament will have four representatives [in the talks], which shows our commitment. Along with MEP Tanja Fajon and me, the experienced former MEPs, Knut Fleckenstein and Eduard Kukan, will also be there,” Bilcik said, adding that the parties that had boycotted the elections should return to the negotiating table and participate in the next elections.