Brnabic: Why do we currently face with regional instabilities?
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated that the situation in the region becomes more and more complex, as certain political actors are creating political tensions.
Source: Tanjug
According to her, everyone is interested in better connections and greater stability, which Serbia will continue to call for.
"It is clear that it is of utmost importance for all citizens in the region, wherever they are and whatever their nationalities, to be much better connected and more stable than they are now," Brnabic said at the international conference "World after coronavirus", within the initiative "Belgrade Strategic Dialogue".
She points out that the region is small and that we are directed at each other, as well as that only if we are well connected and have a stable region will we be able to fulfill all our potentials.
"Why do we currently have some regional instabilities? It is a complex question. I think some politicians in the region resort to it and create instabilities politically to cover up other things and would not have to answer why their economies are not doing better and why Serbia is going faster than others", Brnabic concluded.
Brnabic adds that such things are to their detriment, but that it has negative consequences for us in Serbia, because we are forced to balance between what is politically and economically good for our citizens and to just answer someone and finish it or say, for example, "Fine, introduce reciprocal measures".
"It is not smart and thoughtful and responsible towards our citizens," she said.
Brnabic also points out that Serbia will continue to call for economic cooperation, that is, at the international level, for globalism and multilateralism, and at a local level, that is, in the region, for better connections and stability.
As she says, we are left with a huge issue, and that is the issue of Kosovo and Metohija and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
The Prime Minister hopes that this dialogue will be resumed soon, but recalls that on November 21, 2018, she was supposed to attend the laying of the foundation stone for the science and technology park in Nis, but that she was prevented because Pristina introduced a 100% tax on goods from central Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
She added that the park will be opened on June 9, and that nothing has changed yet regarding the tariffs in Pristina.
"We haven't introduced reciprocal measures," the Prime Minister stressed, adding that it was devastating that such behavior by Pristina presented a direct violation of the CEFTA Agreement and the Stabilization and Association Agreement, and that Pristina did all that without consequences, leaving Serbia alone to fight it.
She adds that Serbia must balance, but remains committed to European integration, and that the crisis due to the coronavirus has shown all the strengths and advantages of a smart policy that we pursue as a country, by being committed to European integration, but also a policy that will not endanger our partners China, Russia and others.
"It is in the highest interest of the citizens of Serbia, and we will continue to be guided by that policy," she concluded.
