During the talks, the head of Polish diplomacy expressed his readiness to further actively support Serbia’s integration process with the EU.  He also expressed hope that the new enlargement methodology adopted by the EU in 2020 will increase the process dynamics, based on the reforms underway in individual countries.

“We are ready to share Poland’s experiences from the pre-accession period and the seventeen years of our EU membership,” declared Foreign Minister Professor Zbigniew Rau. 

The ministers also discussed the agenda of the meeting of V4 and Western Balkans’ top diplomats in Rogalin scheduled for the second half of June this year.  After the Western Balkan Summit in Poznań in 2019, this will be another important multilateral event held in Poland dedicated to this part of Europe.

Regional cooperation was also high on the agenda. Minister Rau noted the benefits of developing such initiatives as the Via Carpathia or the Carpathian Strategy. Both officials agreed that the COVID-19 recovery process and the tendency to shorten global supply chains will encourage trade between Poland and Serbia, and further expansion of investments in both countries.

The visit also provided an opportunity to discuss security challenges in the European neighbourhood that are related to, among others, hybrid threats and disinformation, both in the Western Balkan region and in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood.

The cooperation agreement concluded between the Polish and Serbian foreign ministries offers prospect for intensified collaboration not only as regards political dialogue, but also economic diplomacy, European integration or the security area. Establishing a mechanism of regular political consultations on bilateral issues and training of diplomats should help to achieve these objectives.

 MFA Press Office

Photo: Tymon Markowski /MFA