German Ambassador: Serbia’s Progress in Rule of Law Too Modest for Opening New Chapters

Thomas Schieb (BETAPHOTO)

German Ambassador to Serbia Thomas Schieb said on Dec. 10 that Serbia’s progress this year when it comes to the rule of law has not been good enough to allow for the opening of new chapters in Serbia’s EU accession negotiations, but added that he feels that the new government wants to commit itself to these reforms.

“The speed with which a candidate state approaches the EU primarily depends on the implementation of reforms in the area of rule of law, where Serbia failed to show much advancement this year… [Although] a modest progress has been noted, it was concluded that the conditions for the opening of new chapters, which requires a unanimous decision of all member states, have not been met,” Scheib said for the N1 TV.

He added that he has “a feeling that the new government very actively wants to, and even has begun to, commit itself to these reforms.”

“We can only encourage the government to carry on, such as the adoption of the action plan for the media strategy… There’s no reason for disappointment, now is the time to go full throttle ahead, towards [EU] membership,” the ambassador stated.

According to him “the process of the EU integration won’t be complete without the Western Balkan countries.” “They have a clear perspective. Serbia, that is the Western Balkans, is on a good path. Germany is there to offer Serbia support and advice. This year we haven’t made as much progress as we’d wanted to, but I’m convinced that, next year, we will be successful in accomplishing it,” Schieb concluded.