Interview: EU probe unlikely to stop Belgrade-Budapest railway: Serbian expert

EU probe concerning the construction of the Belgrade-Budapest railway in Hungary could slow down its realization, but cannot stop the project because of its importance for the region, nor harm the Sino-Serbian relations, a Serbian expert has said.

The project might be slowed down "not because of Serbia, but because of our Hungarian partner who is part of the EU", said Dr. Dragan Djukanovic, expert in international politics and economics.

In late February, the European Commission started investigating whether the project for the construction of the around 3-billion-U.S.-dollar high-speed railway in any way violated European laws concerning financial feasibility and public procurement.

Zorana Mihajlovic, Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, has said that she expects works will start in May and Serbia did not break any rules.

Mihajlovic expected that the problem will be solved in a way that Hungary will establish a joint enterprise with Chinese companies and will present this to the EU.

She said the European Commission did not have a single remark about the project in their discussions with the Serbian side, and that the probe is an issue between EU member states, their relations, and whether they respect EU laws on public procurement.

It seemed, Djukanovic said, that the EU was seeking some kind of special assurances from Serbia and Hungary when it comes to the realization of this significant project.

He believed that the EU probe in Hungary or potential demands coming from EU to Serbia in regard to Belgrade-Budapest railway will not beat the importance of the project for Serbia and the region.

"I think that it will slow it down the construction of the railway," said Djukanovic, assistant director of Scientific and Research department of the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade.

"But this is such a significant infrastructural project for the South East Europe, that it will manage to remove all the administrative obstacles," Djukanovic, who also lectures subject "Serbia's foreign policy" as a professor at the Faculty of Political Science of the Belgrade.

He estimated that Hungary is obliged, as an EU member country, to adhere to the rules that it accepted when it became a member country.

"What Brussels asks from Hungary in this case, I think Hungary will have to respect, at least a bigger part of it," he said, stressing that this is an internal issue of the EU and that it will have the final decision on this matter.

He said that when Serbia became an EU candidate country, it also took over some responsibilities that it needs to adhere to until it potentially becomes a full member country.

"Serbia is thus also obliged to respect its rules related to the portion of the EU legislature it had already ratified. Serbia of course is not obliged as much as Hungary," Djukanovic said.

Djukanovic commented that Sino-Serbian relations are currently in ascending phase and have been based on foundations of high quality for a long period.

However, he said that as Serbia progresses towards the EU, in future it will have to harmonize foreign policy within the common policy of the EU as well as to harmonize its economy within the system of the EU.

"In the context of European integration, Serbia might have to change its relations with non-EU partners, such as China. I think that at this moment there are no more significant challenges for good and productive relations between Belgrade and Beijing," he said.

"The only challenge is that one and it will be resolved, I believe, on mutual benefit of Serbia and China," he said.

"The continuity of these relations is preserved, and they are constantly being advanced. I believe that these relations have a very good perspective. We expect increasing investments from China to our country," he predicted.

Djukanovic marked that during last year's visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Serbia, two-way relations are good and that they are progressing in a good direction.

"I do not expect that anything will have a negative influence on this good cooperation, and I expect relations to develop further," he said.

Serbia and other countries of the Balkans are on the EU path, and they have interest in connecting their infrastructures better. "China supports this through participation of its companies in some of the key infrastructural projects in the Western Balkans," he concluded. Endit