Expert: Unclear if New Negotiating Clusters will be Opened

Vladimir Medjak (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV/DS)

A vice-president of the European Movement in Serbia, Vladimir Medjak, who is also an expert in European integration, said on Aug. 23 that it's unclear if negotiating Clusters III and IV would be opened for Serbia in December, because the Serbian government has done very little since the European Commission's last report to fight grand corruption and organized crime, solidify the rule of law and freedom of the media.

Medjak said to BETA that with a few years' delay, which included two completely deadlocked years, Serbia presented its negotiating positions for Chapter 10 - Information society and media, Chapter 15 - Energy, Chapter 16 - Taxes and Chapter 19 - Social policy and employment. "All these chapters are included in Clusters III and IV in Serbia's accession negotiations with the European Union (EU)," Medjak explained.

The expert has cautioned that the authorities in Serbia were trying to portray Serbia as a country firmly on its path to the EU, only for the European Commission to be able to say in its annual report in October that some positive developments have been recorded, which would lead to the opening of the two clusters. "Yet, the decision will not be based only on the content of Serbia's negotiating positions, but also the progress the country has made in the area of rule of law," Medjak said.

When asked by BETA if the Serbian government was truly willing to meet the necessary requirements for Serbia's entry into the Union, Medjak said that the authorities only wanted to maintain the impression that Serbia was on the EU path until the next election in March or April, 2022.