First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said that Serbia has a historic chance to obtain the status of candidate country for EU membership during this year and that it should not miss this opportunity.
Dacic said in an interview to daily Vecernje Novosti that it is most important that Serbia obtains not only the positive opinion of the European Commission, but the candidate status as well and that the date for starting negotiations is determined.
The First Deputy Prime Minister highlighted that all state institutions should put maximum effort to fulfil everything that was planned.
He said that last year a significant number of our citizens sought asylum in the EU, adding that in most cases it was the abuse of the right to asylum.
Dacic pointed out that the greatest number of false asylum seekers have returned to Serbia, given that Serbia has readmission agreements with the EU as a whole, and added that these were mainly Roma and Albanians from southern Serbia.
The First Deputy Prime Minister said that a working body has been formed which will conduct a public campaign on what visa liberalisation should be, coordinate measures to be taken by the state bodies, as well as conduct a campaign against abuse of the right to asylum.
This body should also cooperate more closely with EU countries, especially with Hungary and Slovenia, on introducing tighter border control measures.
(Government of Serbia)
