Giaufret: The Nis-Merdare road will connect the region, and Serbia's political destination is EU membership

The EU ambassador in Belgrade, Emanuele Giaufret, said that this highway would be the backbone of the regional road network; that it should be a path of peace, stability, and reconciliation, RTS reports.

As he says, the Nis-Merdare section is only the first segment of a larger project that will connect Nis and other cities with the Adriatic to Durres.

"The construction of this road is a part of the wider picture, the economic and investment plan of the EU for the Western Balkans, intended for infrastructure projects whose goal is to mobilize 30 billion euros," Giaufret said and added that the projects would be aimed at using the potential of this region.

He stated that the EU and Serbia already cooperated closely and that as a part of that cooperation, the Belgrade-Nis high-speed railway was being built, and that Corridor 10 had been co-financed by the EU.

"Serbia's political destination is important to us, and that is the membership in the EU, and we will continue to work together on that," Giaufret said.