Co-Chair of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee Eduard Kukan said that Serbia is on the right track economically, but has to make more effort when it comes to fighting against corruption and organised crime and upholding the media freedom.

At a press conference held at the National Assembly, he said that Serbia deserves praise for its economy and GDP growth and EU Member States’ Ambassadors positive assessment of the business environment.

Kukan said that the EU recognises Serbia’s efforts to fight corruption and organised crime, adding that it has to step up efforts in that area as well as in the area of media freedom.

He commended Government’s efforts to come up with new media strategy. He, however, noted that those processes are time consuming and that good laws must be adopted and enforced at the same time.

“There is much work ahead, but Serbia is on the right track,” said Kukan and added that the EU praised Serbia for its accomplishments but that it also pointed to deficiencies in order to help it achieve its goals and join the Union by 2025.

He added that the EU sees Serbia as a positive and constructive player in the Western Balkans.

Asked to comment on the rule of law-related negotiating chapters 23 and 24, Kukan said that there had been certain complaints from companies active in Serbia, but added that EU Member States’ Ambassadors told him that the business environment was improving.

He described said chapters as the most demanding as they imply the creation of a judiciary system free of any political influence. This takes time, he said.

“It’s a challenging task, but judiciary should be made entirely independent. Adopting laws is not enough; they must be enforced as well. What’s necessary is to restore people’s trust in the judicial system,” Kukan said.

Committee Co-Chair Vladimir Orlić said that the Committee took stock of the recent developments, including the state of play of media professionalism and regional cooperation.

The delegations agreed to allow EU Member States to form opinion on seven chapters Serbia has fully prepared for opening. The delegations also called on EU MS to approve the opening of chapters in question.

“To sum up the meeting, I would say that progress has been made when it comes to Serbia’s European perspective,” Orlić said.