To what extent did the Serbian reforms influence the inflow of Italian investors into the country? Let me put it this way: more reforms lead to more transparency and better governance. They will further improve stability bringing new investors. This is not only valid for Italian companies, but it is also about the business environment in general. Serbian authorities are successfully attracting more FDIs, they have been doing a great job in consilidating the public finances and controlling inflation, as confirmed by international financial institutions. Their efforts should now be concentrated on privatizazions and the further improvement of the fiscal sector, the judiciary and the public administration efficency in general. All these sectors are also taken into account in the EU accession negotiations, the alignment of the Serbian legislation to the European one would, therefore, bring a twofold benefit: moving the Country forward on its European path and reinforce the business environment. We know that the issue of Kosovo is the main condition in the EU negotiations with Serbia, but we have seen some of the negative pressures of Pristina such as imposing taxes, hostile rhetoric and transforming Kosovo's safe forces into the army. What is Italy's position on this issue? We attach great importance to the EU-facilitated Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Stability of the Western Balkans is of the utmost importance for the whole European Continent, and a legally binding agreement on normalization between the sides is an essential element for that stability to be fully achieved and maintained in the long run. Therefore, in our view, there is no alternative to Dialogue and normalisation. This is why we have reiterated our convinced call for an immediate and unconditional suspension of the 100% tax imposed by Pristina on products imported from Serbia, which constitutes a barrier for the continuation of the Dialogue. We have appreciated Serbia’s responsible attitude in the current crisis, as Prime Minister Conte emphasized in his public statements in Belgrade. We wish this path could be maintained as Serbia continues to be a key factor of stability in the region. There are still efforts in place to resume talks between the two sides. We hope this could happen soon, thus enabling progress in the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, which is necessary also to ensure advance-
12
Focus
ITALY 2019
ments in Serbia’s European path. We should not forget that Dialogue needs to be framed within the accession process: both are linked and interdependent. What is the political position of Italy regarding the European path of Serbia bearing in mind the position of Italy towards the European institutions?
ITALIAN COMPANIES HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN VERY ACTIVE AT THE AGRICULTURAL FAIR, ALSO THANKS TO THE FACT THAT ITALY HAS BEEN ORGANIZING A NATIONAL PAVILION IN NOVI SAD FOR SEVEN YEARS IN A ROW
We are well aware of the various challenges ahead for all of us: for the European Union, for most of its member states, for the Balkan region as a whole and Serbia itself. That is why we thought there could be no better time for the Head of the Italian Government to come to Belgrade. In his talks with President Vucic and Prime Minister Brnabic, Prime Minister Conte reaffirmed the staunch support of Italy to the process of integrating Serbia into the EU, while renewing our call to do more on the reforms side, in the interest primarily of the Serbian citizens. In addition to that, he reiterated our full support to President Vucic’s efforts to achieve a compromise solution with Pristina. More recently, during his meeting with President Vucic on 8th May, our Deputy Prime Minister Salvini recalled Italy’s firm position in favor of Serbia’s accession to the EU. As Minister Salvini said a few days ago: “That Serbia should become a part of the European Union is something that is geographically, socially and culturally interesting”. In our view, the reform process within the EU could go along with the integration process. And it would still make sense to enlarge the EU in order to appropriately include some nations very close to us.