Von der Leyen: Serbia one of the most advanced candidates for EU membership

BELGRADE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday in Belgrade Serbia was already one of the most advanced countries in the EU accession process and that it had shown it was able to meet the necessary benchmarks.

"You have shown that deeds follow your words. It is in this spirit that we are working together on the opening of the Cluster 3," von der Leyen said at a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

"Europe remains strongly committed to the European future of Serbia," she said.

"The partnership between the European Union and Serbia is getting stronger. As you said already, we are already Serbia's number one trading partner and investor. In this context, I want to congratulate Serbia for having reached for the first time an investment grade level by Standard & Poor's. This is a big achievement," she also said.

Von der Leyen highlighted three initiatives: an EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, a Serbia-EU partnership on e-mobility and critical raw materials and an Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.

She said the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans was "designed to bring the region's economies closer to ours and to gradually integrate the regional market here with our European Single Market."

"The principle is very simple: We open the door of the European Single Market in specific sectors to Serbian companies. For that, in return, we need some reforms to have a level playing field for both sides. And these reforms are supported by additional investment from the European Union. It has now been a year since we started, and most Western Balkan countries have their reform agenda ready, so does Serbia," she said.

"Now we should be able to start with a pre-financing of 110 mln euros by the end of this year. Then of course, overall, Serbia will receive 1.5 bln euros under the Growth Plan. The Plan will deliver very concrete results. For example, you are on a good track to become part of the Single Euro Payments Area as of next year. It means that transfers of money between Serbia and the European Union will be faster, more secure and free. It will benefit, of course, both citizens and businesses," she explained.

She said the EU was there to support Serbia "every step of the way" to becoming a leader in the batteries and electric vehicle industries.

"We will work together on ambitious projects that will create good jobs and growth, right here in Serbia. For example, we estimate that our partnership could help create 20,000 jobs and add 6 bln euros annually to your GDP. In other words: This is wealth created here in Serbia and it will remain in Serbia and benefit the whole country. And when we work together on raw materials projects, you can be fully assured that we will respect and preserve your beautiful nature and that we will always listen and cooperate with local communities," von der Leyen said.

She said the Investment Plan for the Western Balkans had already mobilised almost 5 bln of investment in Serbia.

"We are working on major projects focused mainly on clean energy and the digital transitions. And indeed, during our visit today at the company HTEC, it was very impressive to see the results of this digital transition in action. There is another example, that is the wind farm we are building in Kostolac, in eastern Serbia. This project could produce the equivalent of the energy demand of 45,000 homes. We are also renovating the Vlasina hydropower system. And we are working on several power lines along the Trans-Balkan Power Corridor. In other words: This will connect the electricity systems of Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Union Member States. Finally, we are investing together in clean transport for better connectivity across the region and with Europe. We have several very interesting projects ongoing on Railway Corridor X – including the one we launched together three years ago, in Nis," she said.

Von der Leyen also commended Serbia's humanitarian assistance and financial support to Ukraine.