EC: Pace of Accession Talks Hinges on Progress in Rule of Law, Normalizing Relations with Kosovo

Talks Belgrade – Pristina (BETAPHOTO/European Council/Mario Salerno)

The pace of accession talks between Serbia and the EU will depend on progress in the area of rule of law and normalizing relations with Kosovo which are key to this process, the European Commission concluded on Oct. 6  in its recommendations in a new report on Serbia's progress in eurointegrations.

The document, which BETA was able to examine, says that during the period covered by the report, Serbia achieved very limited progress in the areas of the justice system and basic rights (Chapter 23) and a certain amount of progress in the areas of justice, freedom and security (Chapter 24), while relations between Pristina and Belgrade still present a challenge, even though the resumption of the dialog with the help of the EU in July was a very positive step.

As for relations with Kosovo, the EC said that Serbia had demonstrated commitment and engagement in the renewed process of dialog but that it needed to invest additional efforts and contribute to establishing a favorable climate which will enable a comprehensive and legally binding agreement with Kosovo to be reached.

In the EC's conclusions and recommendations  for Serbia said that the political scene in Serbia was seeing continued polarization.