BELGRADE, March 21 (Xinhua) -- EU probe concerning the construction of the Belgrade-Budapest project in Hungary will not delay the realization of its Serbian part, because it is in line with Serbian national law and agreements with the EU and China, said the country's Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure on Tuesday.
"Concerning Chinese part of the project, the realization progresses according to schedule and in harmony with all obligations that stem from national law and international agreements that are in effect, and we do not expect any delays during this process," said the ministry in a response to Xinhua.
Serbian authorities said the country regularly consults the EU about the project, and has not been contacted concerning the probe in Hungary.
"We believe that the Hungarian side will find a way to harmonize its goals with the EU, and that the complete railway will be realized in line with the schedule agreed by all three sides," noted the ministry, referring to the probe started by the European Commission in late February.
The probe aims to investigate whether the project for the construction of the around 3-billion-U.S.-dollar high-speed railway in any way violated European laws concerning financial feasibility and public procurement.
The Serbian ministry said in the letter that the country is conducting regular consultations with the European Commission when it comes to its part of the project, which secures its realization in line with all national as well as EU Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) standards in the area of railway transport.
Moreover, "significant efforts have been made so far that reflected on the commercial contract, so as not to harm obligations that Serbia has towards its national law, bilateral international agreements (with China) as well as multilateral agreements (agreement on stabilization and association between Serbia and the EU)."
"Certain suggestions that stem from the agreement on stabilization and association between the EU and Serbia are built into the project and into the commercial contract with Chinese construction companies," said the ministry.
The ministry said it is "optimistic" about the outcome and the differences between all relevant parties will be removed "when it comes to harmonization of procedures between EU members and also in a much wider context of cooperation between China and the EU."
