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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia wants to join EU by 2020

Belgrade/Berlin, 12 September 2015

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stated that false asylum seekers are not coming to Germany to seek work, but because of financial assistance they receive in that country.

Vucic said in an interview with the German weekly "Der Spiegel" that because of that, Germany was proposed to give a smaller financial aid to the applicants for asylum from Serbia in order to avoid false asylum seekers.

According to Vucic, an eight-member family who applies for asylum in Germany receives about €900 in aid, which is three times more than the average salary in Serbia, and also receives free food and has no costs.

These people do not want to work either in our country or in Germany, and for that they are rewarded by you with a lot of money. Some are returned to Serbia, but six months later they are trying again to come to Germany, the Prime Minister explained and underlined that these are false asylum seekers.

Vucic reiterated that our country wants to join the EU by 2020, and underlined that Serbia's future is in the EU, although many citizens feel closeness with Russia.

However, when it comes to the society in which they want to live, then it is clear that four-fifths would opt for the Western model, the Prime Minister pointed out.

Vucic said that there should not be a problem for Serbia to become the 29th member of the EU if it meets its obligations.

Already now we would not be the poorest country in the EU. Our approach, which relies on financial discipline and austerity measures, yields results. We would now easily meet the Maastricht criteria and at the same time, our economy is growing, he said.

When it comes to Kosovo, the Prime Minister stressed that Serbia respects its Constitution, but it also takes reality into account.

We need to talk with people in Pristina, otherwise we would come to a dead end. Formalities are not important for me, he stated and confirmed that there is pressure from the EU regarding Kosovo, but not in the form of blackmails. Speaking about Germany, Vucic said that the popularity of that country in Serbia has increased manifold.

I am proud of that, since never before in history did we stand on the same side. Also, 30,000 people in Serbia work in German companies. It changes our mentality and work ethic, the Prime Minister underlined.