Serbia Believes Non-Paper Could Accelerate Its EU Membership Journey

Danijel Apostolovic (BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

The recently unveiled Franco-German initiative on European Union (EU) enlargement could speed up Serbia's journey to membership, as it is a proposal that two of the Union's most important and most influential member states stand behind, the chief of the Serbian mission to the EU and head of the Operative Team for Serbia's accession to the EU, Danijel Apostolovic, said on June 10.

In a statement for public service broadcaster RTS, Apostolovic said that one of the most important novelties in the document is the simplification of procedures for opening clusters, which would enable faster advance by the candidates that meet the defined conditions.

He also highlighted the importance of a proposal for the gradual integration of candidate countries into certain EU policies, including the single market, the Schengen Area, and energy, as well as greater inclusion of candidate countries into the work of European institutions.

The so-called Franco-German non-paper, which was presented as a joint proposal by the two countries at the EU-Western Balkans Summit recently held in Tivat, Montenegro, envisages greater inclusion of the Western Balkan countries and Moldova in the EU's everyday work as they progress in domestic reforms, as opposed to waiting for membership until they have met all the requirements, which has been the case so far.