EU Draft Conclusions on Serbia: Rule of Law, Normalization with Kosovo Crucial for Progress

European Parliament (Photo: European Union 2019/EP/Gabor Kovacs)

The slowing down of reforms has been observed in Serbia, coupled with regression in freedom of expression, absence of progress in the judiciary, rising tensions and polarization in the society, and the country is urged to protect fundamental rights and make significant advances in the rule of law and the normalization of relations with Kosovo.

This was concluded in the annex of the conclusions on the EU enlargement policy, which are to be adopted at the meeting of European leaders in Brussels on Dec. 18 and 19. The EU Council welcomed that European integration remained Serbia’s strategic goal and expects this to be expressed more clearly in actions and words.

“This includes demonstrating strong political will and consistency in implementing EU-related reforms, and communicating objectively and unambiguously on the EU,” it was stated in the conclusions. According to the Council, the reforms significantly slowed down during the past year, but there were certain positive developments recently.

Recollecting that 22 of 35 negotiation chapters had been opened and two provisionally closed, the Council added that the European Commission had assessed that Serbia was ready for opening Cluster 3 (Competitiveness and inclusive growth). “The Council will revert to the issue of the opening of cluster 3 in line with the negotiating framework, recalling in particular the need for substantial further progress by Serbia on the rule of law and the normalization of relations with Kosovo, which will continue to determine the overall pace of accession negotiations,” it was stated in the conclusions.