Serbia is a country with deep routes in the past and since the early 19th century has been involved in many conflicts in the volatile region.

Now the nation has its sights set firmly on the future and in particular membership of the European Union. “We are doing our best to stay firmly on our EU path and to fulfil all our obligations,” Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic tells euronews’ Isabelle Kumar in this edition of Global Conversation. He reveals the political priorities for his country in its bid to join the bloc.

But Serbia’s past and its relations with Kosovo remain at times a haunting shadow.

“I think we have really achieved a lot, although it was not an easy question for us. It was a very hard, very difficult issue for us, but we carried on with the dialogue with Kosovo Albanians,” explains the prime minister on building sustainable relations with Kosovo.

Creating business opportunities within the country and stopping the brightest and best leaving Serbia is also a pr