Brnabic and Finnish Parliament Speaker on European Integration and Lithium

"Finland is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of the level of environmental protection, so I asked that in that aspect we might see how those two areas coincide - mining and environmental protection," said Brnabic at the press conference.

She explained that Finland will have an above-ground mine, and Serbia, if the project is implemented, will have an underground mine.

She welcomed the Finnish guest to Serbia saying that the two countries are celebrating 95 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, which makes this visit all the more important.

"My ambition and one priority is for the current legislature to be much stronger and to take a step forward in terms of parliamentary diplomacy and to help the entire country, President Aleksandar Vucic and the government in our European integration," said Brnabic.

She asked, she said, the Finnish Parliament Speaker to provide advisory and technical assistance to Serbia on its European path, to open cluster 3 and to continue with reforms.

The Finnish Parliament Speaker assessed that the relations between Finland and Serbia are excellent.

"I believe that we share numerous values and ambitions on the international level. I believe that there is room for strengthening bilateral relations in many fields, especially the economic," said Jussi Halla-aho.

He said that Finland fully supports Serbia's European path and that the Western Balkans belongs in the EU.

"The enlargement process is merit based, with fundamental reforms and the rule of law being at the heart of the EU accession process. I have invited the Parliament Speaker to visit Finland with a parliamentary delegation so that we can continue this exceptional dialogue," he said.

He also added that they exchanged opinions on the regional situation in the Western Balkans as well as the security situation in Europe due to Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

"Russia must not be allowed to win its war of aggression. And our support for Ukraine should be a reflection of that. This war concerns not only Ukraine and Europe, but also the protection of the international order and the defence of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of independent countries," he said.

He thanked Serbia for its support of Ukraine's territorial integrity and other support it provided to Ukraine.

Source: TANJUG