This chapter will analyse all agreements reached to date in the process of normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.
Brussels, 22 January – Screening on Chapter 35, dealing with the process of normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina in Serbia`s negotiations with the EU, has started in Brussels today, report agencies.
Delegation of Serbia will be headed by Minister without portfolio in charge of Kosovo, Aleksandar Vulin.
Head of the negotiating team Tanja Miscevic, advisor to the president Marko Djuric, a member of Serbian team for implementation of the Brussels Agreement Veljko Odalovic and officials from the Ministry of Interior and European Integration Office will also attend today`s meeting.
The goal of this meeting is to make a cross-section of the progress in the dialogue to date and define future challenges on the pathway.
Today`s talks are divided into two phases: first, during which EU officials, for whom Chapter 35 is complete novelty, will present their positions on implementation of the Brussels Agreement to date, and in the second, afternoon part of the screening they will give their view to the Delegation of Serbia.
Minister without portfolio Aleksandar Vulin said to the media before the meeting: “Serbia has been ready for this day for several decades. We expect our legitimate interest to be accepted, as well as everything that has been achieved up until today to be taken into account. We expect to have a full understanding and a good will on the other side”. Vulin did not want to talk about the details of Chapter 35 before the end of today`s meeting.
“The objective are not negotiations on further normalisation, the dialogue is still in charge of that, but keeping track of what has been agreed and what will be agreed upon during the dialogue”, head of Serbia`s negotiating team Tanja Miscevic said on Tuesday. “It is another forum, a tool for conversation, where Serbia will be able to present the EU and institutions its view of the implementation of all that has been agreed in the normalisation, where the basic problems are, what can be done, how much help is necessary…”, explained Miscevic, reports B 92.
According to the EU negotiating framework for the negotiations with Serbia, which was presented on Tuesday at the first intergovernmental conference in Brussels, chapter 35, along with chapters 23 and 24, judiciary, police and fundamental rights, will be in the focus of the negotiating process that started on Tuesday, 21 January, in Brussels.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Štefan Füle emphasised at the press conference that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, along with internal reforms, is the essential factor in determining Serbia’s progress on the European path.
After the screening, the European Commission will draft a report based on which the European Council will make a decision on the official opening of the negotiations on this chapter.
