Von Beckerath: Serbia belongs to the European Union, not as a guest, but as a host at its own table

On May 9, we remember all the victims of the Second World War, but also the fact that European nations once divided by war made a courageous choice and chose unity over division, Andreas von Beckerath, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, told RTS.

He stressed that the European Union believes Serbia belongs in the EU, not as a guest, but as a host at its own table, and assessed that while there has been modest progress, much more still needs to be done in the areas of the rule of law and the electoral framework.

Von Beckerath recalled that the Schuman Declaration was drafted and adopted 76 years ago, clearly demonstrating the important and fundamental values upon which the European Union was built.

“These are democracy and the rule of law, as well as a clear belief that the future will be far more prosperous and better if we stand together. It is precisely this kind of Europe that we commemorate today, and it is also what we offer to the citizens of Serbia. I believe it is important to say that we believe Serbia belongs in the Union, not as a guest, but, as I said yesterday, as a host at its own table,” the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia emphasized.

He added that today diversity is also being celebrated and pointed out that differences within the European Union are not barriers, but bridges.

Asked about the prospects for EU enlargement, von Beckerath stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had created momentum for enlargement and that EU member states had realized enlargement was important not only for the economy and trade, but also to make Europe stronger and safer in the current geopolitical environment.

“We have seen how many candidate countries have taken advantage of this geopolitical momentum to advance on their path toward European Union membership. With Montenegro, we have already begun the process of drafting the accession treaty. We also have Iceland, which has recognized that, in this turbulent world, the European Union is a place of stability and a reliable partner, and they have therefore decided to hold a referendum to determine whether to relaunch the negotiation process,” von Beckerath stated.

Speaking about Serbia’s membership in the SEPA payment system, the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia said this was yet another example showing that Serbia would not benefit only after joining the Union.

“We want to demonstrate that throughout the process itself, as you implement reforms and move closer to the EU, you will already experience the benefits. The SEPA system — the Single Euro Payments Area — means that you will have the same transfer system as banks in the European Union. We have seen that banks which introduced this system reduced transfer costs tenfold. Depending on how Serbian banks implement this system, costs will decrease, and the processing time for bank transfers will also be significantly shortened,” von Beckerath explained.

Speaking about the disbursement of funds to Serbia under the Growth Plan, Ambassador von Beckerath said that an assessment of whether the necessary conditions had been met was currently underway, adding that this was a standard procedure carried out whenever a request for disbursement of funds is submitted.