Foreign Minister on her visit to Serbia

Belgrade, 29 May 2008 - "Serbia’s rapprochement with the EU means bringing people closer together. This is the core of our mobility and exchange programme. We want to break through the feeling of isolation - particularly for young people - and make the European perspective concrete and tangible for all Serbs," affirmed Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik at the press conference on the Experiencing Europe Project, which she held together with Ruzica Djindjic, widow of the late Prime Minister and Chairman of the Foundation named after her husband, Zoran Djindjic, who was assassinated in 2003. The Experiencing Europe Project offers 50 university graduates from Serbia the opportunity to undertake three-month practical work programmes within Austrian companies and institutions. This programme, prepared by Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and the Zoran Djindjic Foundation, is implemented by the World University Service (WUS) Austria.

"Youth is the driving force behind Serbia’s path to Europe. They accelerate the economic and social transformation process. Technical knowledge and mobility are key elements of the EU and in both areas Serbia still faces obstacles that we want to help overcome", continued Plassnik. The Experiencing Europe Project is advantageous for all those involved: "Young people from Serbia can gather experience as to what living and working within the EU means. They acquire important expertise which can then be applied in their home country. This will improve their own future prospects and perspectives as well as those of Serbia on its European path, while at the same time Austrian companies can establish important contacts in a part of Europe that has a great deal of future potential - it is a classic win-win situation," stated Plassnik.

"Serbia is an integral part of Europe - and European integration will not be complete without Serbia. My visit today is a deliberate sign of Austria’s unflinching and continued support for Serbia. We keep our promise and continue our concrete policy of encouragement," affirmed Plassnik. This also included Austria’s consistent commitment to more free visas and the objective of complete visa abolition: "We want to implement practical measures which benefit the population directly, and which illustrate the advantages of the EU integration," avowed Plassnik.

In this context the Foreign Minister reminded her audience of the Travelling to Europe Project under which 300 students from Serbia are provided with free Interrail tickets enabling them to experience Europe. "Getting to know each other is imperative for a successful Europe that is growing together. The opportunity of travelling and gathering one’s own impressions of the cultural and spiritual diversity of our continent in particular will, in particular, render immediate experience of Europe. This project is a contribution designed to relieve young people in Serbia of feelings of isolation, even exclusion, and make them familiar with the European continent we all share," concluded Plassnik.

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