Interview: H.E. Ambassador Vincent Degert, Head of Delegation EU to Serbia

Young people bring innovation, motivation and energy

Visa liberalization is good because I know that many young people in Serbia didn't have the chance to travel to the European Union so far. This decision provides them also with more flexibility in organizing their trips or making short study visits which they can do without constraints. I think it's good for people to be confronted with what is the reality of the European Union and see how does it look, how does it work and how people feel about it


By MARKO ANDREJIĆ (marko.andrejic@wavemagazine.net)
from Belgrade, SERBIA


Since the beginning of October 2009, new Head of Delegation of the European Union to Serbia is H.E. Ambassador Vincent Degert. He was appointed to this position after four years as Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Croatia. Mr. Degert is very experienced, as he is working in European Commission for already 22 years, and he spent nine years on different tasks relating to the enlargement process of EU. He is born on 29th of June, 1960, married and has four children. He speaks fluently French, English and German, but also uses Italian. In his first statements, just after coming to Belgrade, he emphasized his mission - to help Serbia on its way towards the European Union and to strengthen the relations between Belgrade and Brussels.

In his exclusive interview for WAVE magazine Ambassador Vincent Degert is talking about the importance of visa liberalization process for the citizens of Serbia, especially younger generations; about the role of youth in international cooperation in general, next steps in European integration process of Serbia and perspective of the European Union in terms of Lisbon Treaty and new organizational structure of the EU.

- Since tomorrow - December 19th, citizens of Serbia will be able to travel without visas to the European Union (Schengen area), for the first time after 18 years. There are already announced celebrations in Belgrade, and symbolically travelling of 50 people on the very first night to Brussels. What do you expect to see as first results and effects of visa liberalization?

- This is very important step because it is very practical and visible to all the citizens living here in Serbia, but also in FYR Macedonia and Montenegro, three countries that achieved the same result at the same time. People will be able to travel to the European Union, actually into Schengen area because it consists of 28 countries. There are still visas for UK and Ireland, maybe it will change in 2011, but on the other hand we have countries that are not members of the EU, like Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. Students, businessmen, tourists, they will be able now to decide they want to go shopping in Budapest or Trieste on the weekend, and they can do that spontaneously without having to think about it and prepare in advance, to stay in lines, pay 35 Euros and justify different things... This is very good because we can reconnect people on the both sides.

It is also good because originally it was planned for 1st of January, but now it is moved to 19th of December, so people who want to travel for Christmas or New Year, to meet their friends and relatives, can go and have a good time without having too many things to think about and that is a yet another very important dimension. Another important point is that Serbian citizens will be treated like Americans or Japanese or any other white Schengen list citizen of the world. They will be treated as any other visitors to the EU, without discrimination.

Beside visa liberalization, the other important step also made recently, on 8th of December, when the European Council also decided, based on a European Commission proposal, supported by the European Parliament, to unblock the Interim Agreement. This is a major step, because it means that we will further integrate the Serbian economy with the economy of the European Union, offering Serbian businessmen, exporters, possibilities to reach one billion consumers. They could already do it since 2000, but there will be more options offered now. On the other hand, it also means that Serbian businesses will have to prepare themselves for a more competitive environment. It is good for Serbian consumers, too, because they will see that they can have good services at a cheaper price. Already with the visas we can see the low cost air companies coming. So, citizens can see very concretely and practically what these changes bring to their daily life.

- What should be the next step of Serbia in European integration process?

- I think these decisions open the possibility to move clearly further and maybe faster, because they create a new atmosphere in the area of relations between the EU and Serbia. We have to keep working on that, to prepare for the next steps, and the next step will obviously be decision by the government to submit its application to European Union. Then we have to see when - and if - the Council will ask the Commission to prepare an opinion, and this is the element why we were saying that some consultations and discussion before this action should take place, to ensure the possibility to continue moving forward. It is clear in that regard that full cooperation with ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) is something that is very much expected, and it would certainly facilitate very much if we have suitable solutions on this issue. I am a bit optimistic on all of this issues and I see that there are positive trends.

- What is your advice about submitting application?

- My advice is more on the substance, because it is not just an application; there is much more behind it. What you want is to have a successful application, meaning that you will have a positive opinion of the European Commission. It is not always the case. So, I look more on the substance of the issue, what needs to be done to be fully prepared to reach a positive opinion and then to enter into the negotiation process that will be a successful one. Rule of law, that's one of the issues, then reform of the economy, privatization of state owned companies. There is a number of tasks and you always have to think about the next steps.

- What does visa liberalization mean and why is this decision so important to Serbian students and youth in general?

- It's good, because I know that many young people in Serbia didn't have the chance to travel to the European Union so far, so visa free regime provides them more flexibility in organizing their trips or making short study visits which they can do without constraints. More strategically speaking, I think it's good for people to be confronted with what is the reality of the European Union - how does it look, what are the positive and those less positive sides, to have a good perception of what it is, how it works and how people live there, how they feel about it... So, this is a very important element.

Then we have to see what can be done in the next steps for the younger generations more specifically. We have a number of EU programs open for students, at the moment there is Erasmus Mundus program and Youth program managed by Tempus office in Serbia that we have in Belgrade. They can give advices on how to access to these scholarships and how to apply. By coming closer to the EU there will be more opportunities for students to do like their colleagues in Stockholm, Paris or Madrid - to study two years in one university and then go to another country for next year, and so on... That's what we call Erasmus Programme and that is very good for people to see other mentalities and customs.. We always say in the EU that we are united in diversity because diversity is richness. People from different countries have different approaches and it is good to confront them because then you look at the specific problem in a completely different way.

- How do you see the role of young people in the process of European integrations and international cooperation?

- Young people bring innovation, they bring motivation, they bring energy, and I think it's very good to have all these elements together. Look at the climate change which is the big issue today. It's mobilizing lots of young people, NGOs, they are very active, saying that we have to change the way we live, the way we produce... These are good things which bring positive changes, because the European Union is in fact a framework, it is an area of peace, stability and democracy. It is very important what young generations can and will bring to this framework.

- Recently the Delegation of the European Commission to Serbia has become the Delegation of the European Union. What does this change mean to the Serbian citizens?

- This is a very important change also for Serbian citizens because, as you know, we always said we cannot welcome new members in the European Union if we are not able to simplify, to modernize and to improve the functioning of our own institutions. This is exactly what the Treaty of Lisbon is bringing in this regard. So, this was really the precondition to continue with the enlargement process. Now we have a new President of the European Council, Mr. Van Rompuy who will chair in the next two and a half years, we have Mrs. Ashton who will be both Vice-president of the European Commission and High representative of the European Union in charge of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The change in Serbia is, precisely, that we are not working only for European Commission anymore. We are now covering all the EU institutions and so we are going to work more than in the past with the European Parliament, too. I hope we will also welcome soon the president of the European Parliament.

- Can you compare the process of European integrations in Serbia and in Croatia, where you were accredited for previous four years?

- The process is always the same, we are dealing with acqui communitaire and it doesn't change. Of course, we are starting from a later EU integration point here in Serbia. Croatia has signed its Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) in 2001, this was only possible here in 2008, so there is a difference in time. If we are well prepared we can accelerate the process a bit here and there. At the same time we have to address bilateral topics which remained unresolved for a long time. Our objective is not to make borders disappear, but to make them less relevant. Borders should be connecting lines not dividing lines.

- What are your first impressions during your short period of almost three months of working in Serbia?

- I am enjoying it very much. Belgrade is beautiful city, very international, with many possibilities - cultural, historical, gastronomic, but the rest of the country also. I have been travelling a lot within Serbia already during the past three months. I've encountered a good atmosphere, also because it is a very positive and dynamic moment with the two decisions we discussed before in place. I look forward to intensify the process of European integration and I have excellent interlocutors on the side of the Serbian government and the parliament to move forward.

- Your biography says that you are very much in sports - you were the captain of school rugby team, you like skiing and you were running marathon also. Is there any possibility that we will see you as participant in Belgrade Marathon in April 2010?

- Yes, that was one of the ideas we already discussed (laugh). The problem is that for running the marathon you have to prepare well, and the question will be if I will have enough time to prepare, but I will run half-marathon for sure. Marathon is more demanding; half-marathon is not the problem to me.

- As a conclusion of this interview, can you tell to readers of WAVE magazine your opinion and your view on the perspective of the European Union and the enlargement process, in terms of Lisbon Treaty and new organizational structure of EU?

- I think we have great opportunities, as I said before, because we have the Lisbon Treaty now. We have a clear perspective for the countries of the Western Balkan region - a negotiating process with Croatia, looking forward to start negotiations with FYR Macedonia, application from Montenegro, the same process for Albania. We now also have Iceland as one more country that is been applying as well, what proves the attractiveness of EU. These are very important steps and I think Serbia has to be a part of that process. I am happy with the decisions relating to visa liberalization and the Interim Trade Agreement to Serbia and I am looking forward for next steps now.


(Published: 18.12.2009.)