BELGRADE, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Governments and institutions of Serbia and Western Balkans signed the European Railway Safety Culture Declaration on Wednesday at the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Summit organized by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) here.
Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic signed the declaration with the IPA Project Manager of ERA Peter Mihm and Lazar Mosurovic, director of the Directorate for Railways of Serbia, the government said in a press release.
The declaration demonstrates the commitment of leaders and authorities in the entire European railway sector, to raise awareness and promote a positive safety culture which "reinforces the effects of a Safety Management System, improving the capability and efficiency of safety management".
Mosurovic said that the European Railway Safety Culture Declaration was signed by more than 100 European governments and institutions so far, noting that today more than 35 institutions from the Serbia and the Western Balkans region are here to sign this document too.
By signing the declaration, they become part of a large European railway family, Mosurovic pointed out.
"Traffic safety is a concern for all railways in Europe and it is in everyone's best interest to continue working on it. The Directorate for Railways of Serbia complies with EU procedures and aligns its regulations with European ones", he concluded.
Mihajlovic said that the strategic interests of the government of Serbia are the development and investment in railway traffic and improvement of safety.
According to her, the country has done a lot in the past few years - from restructuring of railway companies to investing in railways.
"Regional integration is the essence of future development and that is why it is important that today here are friends with us from all the countries of the region, with whom we will exchange experiences, but also talk about improving the legislative framework", Mihajlovic said.
She stressed that Serbia should harness its potential and return to the map of European railways, "just as we have become an unavoidable route between East and West in road transport".
Sem Fabrizi, head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, said that the EU has invested more than one billion euros in Serbia in the field of transport and will continue to provide support in that area.
He reminded that railways are a greener mode of transport and contribute to traffic safety and efficiency.
The text of the declaration signed here on Wednesday deals with good safety management, job design, tools, training, procedures, risk management, investigation and analysis of occurrences which are recognized as vital for the safety of railways in Europe.
