Serbia opened another two chapters within EU accession negotiations at the Sixth Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg – Chapter 7, Intellectual Property and Chapter 29, Customs Union.
So far, Serbia has opened 10 out of 35 chapters; two chapters have been provisionally closed immediately upon opening.
Danielsson: Serbia’s European perspective firm and real
Directorate General of the DG NEAR of the European Commission Christian Danielsson said during the press conference that the meeting in Luxembourg “showed that Serbia’s European perspective was firm and real. We have opened two chapters, on intellectual property law and customs union, both of which exceed the scope of EU accession. They are essential to competitiveness of the Serbian economy.“
“With Serbia’s commitment I am confident that more chapters can be opened by the end of the year. To that end, Serbia needs to make significant and credible progress on the rule of law reforms, in particular regards judiciary, handling of war crimes and fight against corruption. Also, it needs to remain committed to normalization of relations with Kosovo,” he added.
Dalli: A positive signal of the importance the EU attaches to the Western Balkans
Maltese Minister of European Affairs Helena Dalli said that the conference was a positive signal of the importance the EU attached to the Western Balkans.
“Today’s conference is a testament to Serbia’s commitment to EU path, Maltese presidency and EU’s commitment to the enlargement policy based on the principles of conditionality and merits,” Dalli said.
“I would like to take this occasion to congratulate Serbia for the progress made in the process of European integration, but I would also like to say once again that it is important that Serbia intensifies its efforts in the rule of law reform, fundamental rights and normalisation of relations with Kosovo, all of which are key areas for the pace of Serbia’s negotiation process,” said Dalli.
“Continuing with the reform in the area of public administration and economic governance is also needed to further consolidate the efforts being made by Serbia towards reaching the goal of EU membership,” Dalli said and reiterated that the opening of chapters showed Serbia’s progress and EU’s commitment to the region which was key to its stability.
Joksimovic: European integration is the best way to make the reform process a success
Minister in charge of European integration Jadranka Joksimovic said that the chapter on intellectual property was important not only for citizens and economy, but also for authors and their rights, for fighting production and distribution of forged products as well as research and development.
“By opening negotiating chapters, we prove that we have embarked on the reform process for the sake of our citizens and society as well as for the sake of our final goal, that is EU membership. I would like to stress that Serbia’s primary reform focus is on the internal agenda, and we believe that European integration is the best way and mechanism to make the reform process a success,” Minister Joksimovic said.
She said that she hoped Serbia could open more chapters before the year’s end. “This is a positive sign that the EU’s door is open to Serbia. International circumstances can work in our favour or not, but I believe that in the next four to five years we will be ready to talk about joining the EU,” Joksimovic concluded.
