Serbia to start talks with EU by year end: EU Commissioner

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn agreed Friday that Serbia should be supported in its attempts to open first negotiation chapters by the end of the year.

Vucic and Hahn met here to discuss Serbia's European integration.

At a press conference, Hahn praised Vucic's recent moves to reconcile Serbia with its neighbors and continue dialogue with its southern province Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence in 2008.

"I am convinced that we are on a good way to open the first negotiation chapters before the end of this year," Hahn said at the conference, stressing the necessity of supporting countries in their EU aspirations as Serbia is the key partner of the EU in the region.

Vucic agreed that Serbia deserved to open the first chapters as it kept a responsible policy, and acted sensibly in the past period.

He said he expected the EU to maintain the same level of support for Serbia in the further process of European integration.

Vucic and Hahn previously visited the refugee shelter in the town of Sid in northwest of Serbia where migrants from Middle East and Africa keep arriving on their way to the Croatian border.

Prior to his visit to Serbia, Hahn announced that the EU would secure an additional 17 million euros (19 million U.S. dollars) so that Serbia could overcome the migrant crisis. he also thanked Serbia for having acted in a determined and professional way with regards to this international problem. Endit