The vice president of the European Commission, Franco Frattini, flew to Belgrade on January 30 to start talks about the possibility of ending visa requirements for Serbian citizens, the news service Balkan Insight reported. "We know that 70 percent of young people in Serbia have never traveled abroad," Frattini told journalists before heading for Belgrade. "That's not acceptable and we want to rectify that." The EU announced on January 18 its willingness to launch talks on visas and reiterated its commitment when its foreign ministers met on January 28. This is the second sign in a matter of days that the EU wants to tighten relations with Serbia, following agreement within the union on January 28 to offer Belgrade a deal focusing on trade links. The offers fall short of measures desired by pro-EU ministers in Belgrade, who believe the EU could swing votes toward Serbia's serving president, Boris Tadic, in the runoff to be held on February 3. Frattini's schedule includes meetings with Tadic, with Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, whose portfolio includes European integration, and with police officials. The EU eased visa restrictions on Serbs and citizens of four other Balkan states as recently as this month.
Fonte: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline.
