Enlargement remains high on the EU agenda, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport told NIN weekly in an interview. “The fact that the EU adopted its new Global Strategy for foreign and security policy only few days after Brexit is also important, as it highlights the importance of the enlargement with a particular emphasis on the Western Balkans.“
When asked what difference does the opening of chapters 23 and 24 make to the life of ordinary citizens, Davenport said the chapter 23 dealt with measures necessary to set up independent and efficient justice, improve the functioning of independent and regulatory bodies, protect citizens’ rights and media freedom and close old court cases. “Court proceedings often take ten or more years to close, but now we have a plan to solve this problem once and for all.”
He said that opening of chapters will be followed by the implementation of action plans with the European Commission and all Member States closely monitoring the process. The process will last until the end of accession negotiations. Justice reform cannot be implemented over night.“
The EU is unequivocally committed to the establishment of full freedom of expression in all candidate countries
“Prime Minister and I discuss all aspects of Serbia-EU relations, media landscape included, but I do not want to whine any time some a tabloid publishes lies about me, even though I could make it a recurring topic of our meetings,” said Davenport answering the question about tabloids.
“My wish is to focus on concrete constructive actions, including in the field of media, in order to improve media freedom and overall media landscape,” he said.
He underscored that the European Commission was unequivocally committed to the establishment of full freedom of expression in all candidate countries.
Asked to comment on the fact that three months after the incident the responsible for “balaclavas” in Savamala are yet to be brought to justice and weather the issue would make part of Serbian EU accession talks in the context of rule of law, Davenport said that the EU generally did not deal with individual cases such as the one of Savamala.
“The case, however, should be considered in the context of both chapters 23 and 24, the rule of law as you put it, as well as in the context of enforcing and respect for the law, the efficiency of a number of public bodies in charge of security and prosecution, fundamental human rights, right to property and so on,” Davenport said.
Commenting on various statements regarding European integration made by Serbia’s caretaker government, EU Ambassador Davenport said Prime Minister Vucic was strongly committed to European integration process and had a parliamentary majority that shared his commitment. “I believe Serbia could draw on other EU Member States’ experience and should put in place and implement a communication strategy regarding European integration and the EU,” he said.
Investigation into Zelezara Smederevo is not directed against Serbia
Commenting on the fact that the EC’s investigation into alleged “dumping” of prices by Zelezara Smederevo has raised a lot of dust in public, Davenport said there was no reason for dust to raise over this issue because it did not affect only Serbia, but also Ukraine, Brazil, Russia and Iran.
“I do not want to prejudge the outcome of the investigation; it is a process that takes time and we are yet to see what the EC’s conclusion would be. The European Commission is doing its job and its actions are not directed against Serbia,” Davenport said.
He said that several steel producers in the EU were also subject to similar investigations into potential unjustified state aid, including certain manufacturers in Spain and Belgium.
“The European steel market complies with certain rules and the Commission is tasked with verifying the observance of those rules. We are very pleased with Serbian Government’s cooperative attitude on this matter,” Davenport said.
He said he was aware of a kind of parallel being drawn between the investigation and the taking over of the company by Chinese manufacturer, noting that the investigation also covered the period before the Chinese investor stepped in.
It is up to Serbia to define its strategic priorities and, on the basis of those priorities, its future foreign policy
When asked whether the EU, or certain Member States could ask Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia, Davenport said that for the time being, the EU would not pursue such policy.
He also noted that the EU expected each of the candidate countries to fully align their foreign policy by the time they have joined the Union.
“It is up to Serbia to define its strategic priorities and, on the basis of those priorities, its future foreign policy,” Davenport added.
When asked whether he thought Croatia could use its bilateral relations with Serbia as an excuse to blackmail it in the accession process, as was the case when the decision on the opening of chapters 23 and 24 was being made, Davenport said the general opinion of the EC and all of the EU was that bilateral issues should be left out of the negotiation process.
“We have a clear attitude on this issue. On the other hand, we should be aware that the enlargement of the EU is a process that requires support from all EU Members and our decisions to expand our family of nations are made through consensus, which is why it is important that each member of the family is pleased with each step made in the process,” Davenport said.
Asked whether he thought Serbia could be blocked again in future, Davenport reminded that opening of each chapter requires consent of all Member States, as they assessed the implementation of action plans.
“As far as Croatia and Serbia go, it is a very good thing to see bilateral contact made at the highest level and agreements reached to step up efforts aimed at resolving the remaining open issues on both sides,” Ambassador Davenport said.
