Meeting of the President of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina and President of the Committee of the Regions

On the opening day of the European Week of Regions and Cities, 7 October 2019, the President of the Committee of the Regions, Karl Heinz Lamberts had a meeting with the delegation of AP Vojvodina, led by the President of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, István Pásztor at the seat of the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. In addition to the President, the delegation of AP Vojvodina included Srdjan Mačkić, Head of the Vojovdina European Office in Brussels, Nebojsa Drakulić, Assistant Provincial Secretary for Regional Development, Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government, Goran Lazović, Advisor to the Provincial Prime Minister.

The meeting discussed relations AP Vojvodina was establishing with other regions, the ways in which interregional cooperation accelerated the process of Serbia’s accession to the EU, as well as the role and contribution of the Vojvodina European Office in Brussels in the process, especially with regard to previous cooperation with the Committee of the Regions.

President Pásztor indicated that in the past few years the interest of European and other regions for cooperation with Vojvodina had been increasing because of the activities of the province so far, but also because of a more positive perception of the European path of the Republic of Serbia.

Pásztor emphasized once again the willingness of the authorities in the Republic of Serbia to introduce all necessary social reforms in order to get closer to the achievement of the goals necessary for accession, saying that it was not only the interest of the Republic of Serbia, but also the interest of the entire European Union.

The President of the Committee of the Regions said that AP Vojvodina was one of the few examples of its specific features in Europe. He emphasized that it was very important that there was the Vojvodina European Office in Brussels that facilitated communication with other regions, as well as with the EU institutions. Lamberts also emphasized that the Western Balkans were strategically important for Europe, and welcomed the efforts the Republic of Serbia was making in approaching and joining the EU.

The delegation of AP Vojvodina is in Brussels given the European Week of Regions and Cities.