Greece "wholeheartedly" supports Serbia's EU bid

Source: B92, Beta

ATHENS -- Greece, which will starting January 1 hold the EU presidency, will "wholeheartedly support Serbia's EU integration," says Serbian Prime Minister Dačić.

(Tanjug)

He made the statement after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Samaras in Athens.
Dačić is also scheduled to meet with President Karolos Papoulias.

He told reporters that the first intergovernmental conference in the negotiations between Serbia and EU could take place in Athens in January.

"The Greek prime minister said that Greece would wholeheartedly support Serbia in European integrations. Which means that, if a decision is made in accordance with the recommendations of the European Council, an intergovernmental conference could take place in January in Greece," Dačić said.

Dačić said that he agreed with Samaras that the governments of Serbia and Greece should meet in the second half of 2014, and that such meetings should become regular.

"The talks with Greek PM Samaras was very important because Greece, like all other countries that have not recognized Kosovo, has been under pressure to change its position," Dačić said.

He noted that the bilateral economic cooperation was good, and the volume of trade over USD 300 million per year.

"More than 25,000 people are employed by Greek companies in Serbia, and we want to further strengthen this cooperation," Dačić said.