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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia opens first chapters in negotiations with EU

Belgrade/Brussels, 14 December 2015

Serbia opened this evening at the 2nd Intergovernmental Conference with the EU in Brussels the first chapters in the negotiations with the EU – Chapter 32 on financial control and Chapter 35 on normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Author: Tanjug

With the 2nd Intergovernmental Conference, Serbia has essentially started the process of harmonization with the standards and norms of European Union member countries.

The 2nd Intergovernmental Conference of Serbia and the EU was opened by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, the country which currently holds the EU presidency, Jean Asselborn and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

The conference was attended by European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dacic, Minister without portfolio responsible for European integration Jadranka Joksimovic, Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic and Head of the Serbian team for negotiations with the EU Tanja Miscevic.

Vucic said at a joint press conference with Asselborn and Hahn, after the opening of the first negotiating chapters with the EU, that he is proud as prime minister and that this is one of those days when, as a country and a people, we are writing history.

He added that now we need to work hard so that Serbia could become a member of the European family.

This is important for various reasons, but first of all because of the type of society Serbia wants to belong to, Vucic said.

We are pleased that Europe also wants to see Serbia in its democratic neighbourhood, he added.

This is important for the economy too, Vucic noted and summarized everything that Serbia did over the last few years, from getting out of recession, reducing budget deficit, improving position on the World Bank’s Doing Business list, to the reduction of unemployment.

The Prime Minister reiterated that Serbia’s goal is to complete everything by 2019, and that then it is up to the EU to decide whether it wants such Serbia in its membership.

This is good news for the entire region, for all countries of the Western Balkans, that everyone knows that they have a stable partner in Serbia. This is an important date for Republika Srpska too, Vucic stated.

He said that Serbia will continue negotiations with representatives of Albanians from Kosovo-Metohija and underlined that Serbia is and will be a pillar of stability in the region.

The Prime Minister thanked all citizens of Serbia, all the previous governments since 2000 and the civil sector.

I would especially like to thank one European leader who helped us a lot and without whom we would not have arrived here - German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She has kept her word, Vucic said.

He explained that Germany has fulfilled its promise the moment Serbia has met all its obligations.

Also, Vucic told the Serbian citizens that they have reasons to be proud of themselves and their country.

Asselborn said that the presidency of his country over the EU has completed with a key step - the opening of the first chapters with Serbia.

He added that he is honoured to be able to participate in this historic moment.

Luxembourg, the country presiding over the EU, is Serbia’s friend and ever since the 2003 Thessaloniki Summit at which the declaration was adopted that the future of the Western Balkans is in the EU, it has been committed to promoting the opening of negotiations with Serbia, he stated.

Hahn underlined that Serbia is now a country with a clear European perspective, and that those who are now investing in Serbia – will invest in Europe and pointed out that that will be a signal of a stable business environment for foreign investors.

He congratulated Serbia, its government and citizens on everything they have achieved on the path towards Europe, but added that difficult and strenuous work is yet to start though.

The European Commissioner said that Serbia’s progress is the result of team work, which could not have been achieved without the dedication and resoluteness of the Serbian authorities and the efforts of citizens and the civil society.