The interior ministers of Serbia and Slovenia, Ivica Dacic and Katarina Kresal, on June 8, in Ljubljana, signed a protocol between the two countries' governments on implementing an agreement between the European Union and Serbia on the readmission of persons staying in the other country without permission.

The two ministers also discussed cooperation between the police forces of the two countries, especially in combating terrorism and all forms of organized crime. They paid particular attention to Serbia meeting the conditions for introducing visa relaxations, that is, the abolishing of visas for its citizens to EU countries.

Dacic and Kresal voiced the hope that Serbia would meet the conditions by the end of the year, which, the Slovenian minister said, would contribute to the easier flow of people and ideas and the all-round cooperation between the two countries, especially in economy and culture.

In a meeting, Jelko Kacin, a newly elected member of the European Parliament and outgoing rapporteur for Serbia, congratulated Dacic on everything achieved to date toward abolishing visas for Serbian citizens and said the minister and his associates had done a big job.

"I am convinced that Serbian citizens will be able to travel without visas by the end of the year," Kacin said, adding that this also depended on the implementation of the visa abolition plan, toward which Serbia had done a lot.

Kacin further stated that he made this claim as the outgoing rapporteur for Serbia and as a man who regularly follows everything that happens in Serbia, and added that his words over the next days would be officially confirmed by the European Commission.

After the talks, Dacic said he was very happy with Kacin's opinion that Serbia had fulfilled a considerable portion of its obligations in the "roadmap" toward the EU, that is, toward visa liberalization.