28 June 2016 The members of the European Integration Committee and the guest from the European Commission

28 June 2016 The members of the European Integration Committee and the guest from the European Commission

Wednesday, 29 June 2016

European Integration Committee Members Meet with Head of EC Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

The Head of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations Catherine Wendt, currently in official visit to Belgrade, met yesterday at the National Assembly with the members of the European Integration Committee.


She said that the EU enlargement and negotiations process will go on, the results of the recent UK referendum notwithstanding, and applauded the fact that in the recent elections Serbia confirmed its European path and is fully ready to launch negotiations on the chapters. She underlined the importance of the role of the European Integration Committee in the coming period, especially as regards cooperation with the European Parliament.

Wendt also said that there are no technical impediments to opening the chapters in the coming period and that Serbia can already start with the realisation of the action plans. She added that the progress report on Serbia for this year is in the process of being compiled, to be presented in October, and will be focusing on public administration reform and the rule of law. The implementation of the SAA and regional cooperation will also be monitored, with a special focus on the results of the Berlin Process which is very important both for the countries in the region and for the EU enlargement process.

Committee member Vesna Markovic said that this visit comes at a crucial moment for Serbia as it is the first one by a representative of the European institutions after the elections in which the citizens gave their support to the parties committed to Serbia’s EU accession. She informed the guest about the work of the European Integration Committee and the strategic documents passed by the National Assembly which ascertain its role, and the role of the European Integration Committee, in Serbia’s EU accession process.

In the meeting, Committee members Natasa Vuckovic, Zarko Micin, Dusica Stojkovic, Elvira Kovacs, Marinika Tepic, Zvonimir Djokic and Branko Ruzic, as well as Vladimir Orlic, co-chairman of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee from the ranks of National Assembly members from the previous legislature, commended the EU’s decision to carry on with the enlargement policy despite the UK citizens’ choice, and expressed Serbia’s readiness to continue with the ongoing reform process. They also spoke about the blocking of the opening of chapters 23 and 24 and the expectation that they would be opened as soon as possible. The Committee members told the Head of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations that the opening of negotiation chapters at this moment would send a message of support and be a fantastic move by the EU in light on the new developments in the Union. They also informed the guest about the manner in which the Committee had adopted Serbia’s negotiating positions on the chapters in the previous period with a particular focus on the preparation of a special action plan for national minorities. The officials also discussed how the results of the UK referendum might set off an avalanche of Euroscepticism in Europe, as well as how it can also be a chance for the Western Balkan countries. They said that Serbia does not want bilateral issues to burden its European path and that it can resolve them itself through dialogue, as evidenced by the recently signed Declaration on improving relations and resolving open issues between Serbia and Croatia.



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friday, 29 march
  • 9.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

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