After an exchange of opinions on issues of regional development and security challenges in the Western Balkans, economic challenges, energy cooperation, green transition and the process of European integration, PACE MPs were addressed by Alexis Tsipras, Chairperson of the PACE Sub-Committee on the Western Balkans, and Biljana Pantic Pilja, Head of the National Assembly standing delegation to PACE.

Tsipras summarized the results of the two-day Sub-Committee meeting and concluded that in the future all actors should contribute to the achievement of three goals: the expansion of the EU to the Western Balkans by 2030, the integration of the economies of the Western Balkans into the EU market before full membership and the peaceful resolution of problems in the region.

The Head of the National Assembly standing delegation to PACE Biljana Pantic Pilja thanked all the participants, pointing out that the discussions gave a proper picture of the region in which we live.

"There is no doubt that our region has a common future in the European Union. These are the assessments of experts and leading politicians in the EU. Unfortunately, not all of them, and that is why we have been waiting more than twenty years for admission to the EU, since the promise made at the Thessaloniki summit in 2003. I deliberately did not say a common European future, because each of our futures is truly European, because we are an integral part of Europe," said Pantic Pilja.

She added that today the Western Balkans is closer to more intensive cooperation, to which the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, made a great contribution through initiatives such as the Open Balkans and the Berlin Process. Challenges must be discussed, and we highly value the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as a platform for dialogue and exchange of opinions among MPs who represent their people, added Pantic Pilja.

"The Republic of Serbia and the National Assembly are committed to achieving the high standards of the Council of Europe regarding the rule of law, democracy and human rights. Our reforms are proceeding steadily and the changes are evident. Maybe the dynamics are not to the taste of some critics, but even in the most developed democratic states, the full degree of democratic development has not been achieved in thirty years. I regret that our democratic development has not been verified by appropriate reports and resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and that we have been waiting for a report for 12 years. I believe that Serbia has long ago fulfilled the conditions to enter the post-monitoring phase of the PACE, as Montenegro and North Macedonia have done in the meantime. As for the Sub-Committee for the Western Balkans, the members of the standing delegation and the National Assembly as a whole will continue to provide their constructive contribution and actively participate in its work", concluded the head of the National Assembly standing delegation to PACE.