Brnabic meets with Varhelyi

BELGRADE - Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic received EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi on Wednesday to discuss topics including reforms and alignment of national regulations with European laws.

Brnabic said that, in her new post, she would continue to advocate strengthening institutions and democratic principles in Serbia, an official statement said.

"We will continue to work on reforms and we will devote the greatest possible attention to aligning national regulations with European laws," Brnabic noted.

Congratulating Brnabic on becoming parliament speaker, Varhelyi wished her success in her further work and expressed gratitude for her excellent cooperation in the past.

He also congratulated her on an agreement reached on implementation of ODIHR recommendations as well as on discussions underway with all political groups and a government working group with a view to improving electoral processes and strengthening democracy in Serbia.

At the same time, Varhelyi said he hoped Serbia would open a third cluster in its EU accession talks this year.

Brnabic said that would be great progress and thanked Varhelyi for supporting structural reforms, which she said were substantial for faster development of Serbia.

Brnabic said full EU membership was a strategic priority for Serbia and that she would work on advancement of parliamentary cooperation with countries in the region in the coming period.

Confirming his support, Varhelyi noted that he was confident rule-of-law reforms and work towards greater alignment with the EU foreign policy would be continued.