Serbia is tired of divisions and blockades. The road to the EU is not a one-way street, we remain militarily neutral. Strong centres that do not wish us well are trying to destabilise this Serbia that is striving for success.

This is what Serbia's prime minister-designate Djuro Matsut told parliament after presenting the names of his ministers, reports BGNES. The session to elect the new Serbian government started at 10:00 local time. Outgoing Prime Minister Milos Vucevic was greeted with applause by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.

"The European path is not a one-way street, we are not approaching it with a request, but out of the conviction that Serbia needs the European Union as much as the EU needs Serbia. We want to be a partner and part of an organised community. Serbia knows what it wants, where it belongs, what it believes in, and its path is not imposed, but chosen. We are building a credible, stable, orderly and modern state to be a reliable partner on the international stage. Generations died so that we could have a country. Serbia is sacred," Matsut said.

On the protests against Aleksandar Vucic's regime in recent months, Matsut said, "My duty is to discuss discontent, to support the youth, but by law. That is my first priority."

The mandate holder said that "Serbia is tired of divisions and blockades" and that "harmony will be built as a value through dialogue, tolerance, work and building a system of values that all citizens must share with seriousness and determination."

"Foreign policy is a mirror of internal strength and consistency," Matsut continued, adding that Serbia must be a bridge, a driver, a partner that does not forget its traditional friends. "We remain militarily neutral but politically responsible," he added.

"Serbia will continue to be a constructive actor on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, but will not agree to decisions that are not in line with the country's Constitution and UN Security Council Resolution 1244," the prime minister-designate said, stressing that "preserving the southern province" is a constitutional obligation.

"Some are unsuccessfully trying to challenge the results of progress in recent years, but it is clear that we are in an era of national and economic enthusiasm. The respect we have received at home under President Aleksandar Vucic is historic. Strong centres that do not wish anything good are trying to destabilise this Serbia that is striving for success," he said.

Juro Matsut promised a 1,400 euro average salary and 650 average pension in 2027 | BGNES