Damnjanovic became MP in 2015 and is the first Serb in the history of the Republic of Austria to be elected to the legislative body.

About 300 thousand people of Serbian origin live in Austria, more than 150 thousand of them in Vienna.

“Serbia would like”, said the Serbian MPs, “to contribute to their integration into Austrian society, accompanied by the preservation of their identity through extensive ties with the mother country in the spheres of education, culture, religion and sport.”

The Serbian MPs – Stojmirovic, Linta and Cotric, and their Austrian colleague Damnjanovic agreed that parliamentary diplomacy can contribute to the further development of political and economic relations between Serbia and Austria. They agreed to develop regular cooperation between the members of the two parliaments in the future, especially within parliamentary committees and the Serbian Parliament’s Friendship Group with Austria.

They noted that “Austria is the biggest foreign investor in Serbia and the Austrian companies are expected to employ additional 2000 people this year. Also, the trade between Serbia and Austria will be boosted from last year’s 700 million to a billion euros”.

The member of the Vienna Assembly Nemanja Damnjanovic said that the Freedom Party of Austria which he is member of opposes the recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija and the EU sanctions against the Russian Federation.

The Serbian and Viennese Assembly members also debated the aspects of the refugee crisis and concluded that no efforts should be spared to ensure sustainable peace in the Middle East and northern Africa in order to halt the wave of refugees moving toward the Balkans and Western Europe.