Athens, 18 November 2009

“We are convinced that the European perspective of the Western Balkans needs a new momentum and, in this spirit, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou proposed last month – just a few days after being sworn in – drawing up a new concrete road map for the region’s countries; a road map aimed at accelerating their course forward,” pointed out Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas.

Mr. Droutsas recalled that 2014 marks 100 years from the beginning of World War I, stressing that many of the problems that still torment the region of the Balkans can be traced back to 1914 and that Greece's position is that it is high time for the EU –  the greatest peace project in human history – to take up its responsibility vis-a-vis this corner of the European continent and help the region’s countries on their path towards European integration. He also stressed that this vision finds many supporters, stressing that the integration of the Western Balkans in European structures and their final accession to the Union will contribute to further consolidating democracy and strengthening peace, security and stability in our continent. This means that it is not just our southeastern neighbourhood that will benefit from it, but also the European Union itself.

In answer to a question regarding the possibility of a swift European integration process for Serbia, Alternate Foreign Minister Droutsas stressed that Greece has always firmly supported Serbia’s entry into the European family and that the Papandreou government have committed themselves to doing everything in their power to help Serbia on its course towards taking its rightful place within Europe, also pointing out that President Tadic, who is also a personal friend, and his government are reliable partners in this effort.

Mr. Droutsas said that Greece sees Serbia’s accession in the EU as a regional and European imperative, and added that it is not a question of if, but when; he went on to say that the 2014 strategy could give a clear answer on that matter.

Asked about the future of Greek-Serbian economic relations, which fall short of their excellent political relations, Mr. Droutsas replied that there is always room for further promoting Greek-Serbian economic cooperation, but also highlighted that a lot has been achieved already. He also recalled that Greece tops the list of foreign investors in Serbia and that our trade relations are following an upward trend. There are many areas in which Greece and Serbia are cooperating effectively, either bilaterally or within the framework of regional institutions that are already in place or have been put in operation at an increasingly high level.

For instance, Serbia is the first country to have successfully completed the first phase of the SEELight project, which will link our region’s universities and other institutions through a communications fiber-optic network. On that matter, Mr. Droutsas stressed that the SEELight project is co-financed by the Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HPERB).