Brnabic: Belgrade Declaration adopted, reaffirming commitment to the EU path and respect for the UN Charter

Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly Ana Brnabic announced today that, on the second day of the Conference of Speakers of Parliament of EU Candidate Countries, participants adopted the Belgrade Declaration, reaffirming the commitment of all participating states to the European path as the best course for their citizens and economies, to the continued promotion of peace and stability, as well as their full commitment to the United Nations Charter and respect for international law, above all the fundamental principle of respect for the territorial integrity of internationally recognized states.

"It was a great honor to host, for the first time, the Speakers and representatives of the parliaments of EU candidate countries and to engage in discussions with them. Over these two days, we established a unique framework for cooperation. By adopting the Belgrade Declaration, we institutionalized this format of cooperation as a permanent one and agreed that the next meeting, in 2027, will be held in Moldova. Through the Declaration, we reaffirmed the commitment of all our countries to the European path as the best path for our citizens and economies, to the continued building of peace and stability, as well as our full commitment to the United Nations Charter and respect for international law, above all the fundamental principle of respect for the territorial integrity of internationally recognized states," Brnabic said at a joint press conference with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk.

She added that all participants had agreed to continue working together on reforms and to exchange knowledge and experience in order to address the challenges encountered on the European integration path.

"We have also agreed that, in the coming days, through this framework of cooperation, we will jointly invite the European institutions—primarily the European Parliament, but also other parliamentary assemblies of international organizations, such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly—to join our initiative as observers," the Serbian parliament speaker announced.

Brnabic thanked her Ukrainian counterpart for initiating the format and for holding the inaugural meeting in Belgrade.

"I am also grateful to all the other Speakers of Parliament for accepting our invitation and for demonstrating, in the end, an astonishing level of willingness to cooperate and to find compromises so that we could all stand behind the text of the Declaration. For me, this is the best possible beginning, and I am confident that in the coming weeks we will demonstrate that this was not merely a single meeting, but the start of a new level of cooperation that sends a positive message to our partners in the European Union," Brnabic added.

Stefanchuk: There Is Only One Path Before Us – The Path to the EU

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed satisfaction that he had spent two days in Belgrade discussing the future of the EU candidate countries.

"I am leaving with several messages, the first being that this meeting was successful. We managed to bring together the Speakers and representatives of the parliaments of candidate countries and to engage in open and sincere discussions about the issues that unite us. Our path towards the European Union provides an excellent platform for cooperation. We are not competitors, but partners. We must share both our successes and our failures, as well as the results of our cooperation, because there is only one path before us—the path to the European Union," Stefanchuk stressed.

He added that the reality faced by the Ukrainian people continues to be marked by air raid alerts.

"Today, we also discussed Russia's crimes against Ukraine, and the criminal Putin, who in the past few days alone has killed more than 50 civilians in Kyiv—children, the elderly, and women. This is entirely contrary to all the standards we have been discussing," Stefanchuk said.

He noted that the participants had discussed cooperation among EU candidate countries and expressed his gratitude to Ana Brnabic and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for what he described as a sincere dialogue.

"As a result of that dialogue, I concluded that there are no problems between us, only opportunities for cooperation. When you spoke in Serbian, I understood you without the need for an interpreter, just as you understand much of what I say in Ukrainian. That is because our peoples are much closer than some would like to portray. We are nations of warriors; we know what dignity, honor, and the memory of our people mean. We have reached many agreements," Stefanchuk said.

In addition to Brnabic and Stefanchuk, today's meeting was attended by parliamentary representatives of North Macedonia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Georgia, and Montenegro.

The Conference of Speakers of Parliament of EU Candidate Countries opened yesterday at the Palace of Serbia, where Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic addressed participants, saying that no one should expect miracles or major rounds of EU enlargement in the coming years.

The conference is a joint initiative of the Serbian and Ukrainian parliaments and marks the first time that the Speakers of Parliament of EU candidate countries have launched such a format of cooperation.