Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Chapters 5, 25 in negotiations with EU opened

Belgrade/Brussels, 13 December 2016

Minister without portfolio responsible for European integration Jadranka Joksimovic stated tonight in Brussels, on the occasion of the opening of chapters 5 and 25 in the negotiations with the EU, that for Serbia it is important to keep the dynamics of the negotiation process.

Jadranka Joksimovic, Miroslav Lajcak and Johannes Hahn

Joksimovic said at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister of Slovakia Miroslav Lajcak and European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations and Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn after the Intergovernmental Conference of the EU and Serbia, that despite the fact that Serbia is disappointed and dissatisfied because Chapter 26 has not been opened, nothing will stop Serbia on the path of progress.

We want to deal with things that will improve our society and regional cooperation, but regional cooperation requires a partner in the process. We have come to Brussels to demonstrate our determination and satisfaction with what we have done for our country, Joksimovic said.

Things do not always work out as you want, she said, but Serbia is committed to EU integration first because of itself and it has taken a decisive path and the correct direction.

A long road is ahead of us, but the commitment and determination to work for our society and our people will never be called into question, she underlined.

We perceive and see integration as the best mechanism that will help us make our development agenda more efficient. Therefore, it is important that we opened six chapters and closed one temporarily, Joksimovic said.

The Minister without portfolio responsible for European Integration said that Serbia has deserved that Chapter 26 be opened according to the enlargement criteria, but that Croatia had the intention to temporarily block it because that is a political decision of that state.

She said that Serbia is aware that this is not a good signal because Chapter 26 covers education, youth, sport and culture, and should be the basis for regional cooperation.

Joksimovic expressed hope that Serbia will soon be able to open the chapters for which it is ready.

Lajcak welcomed the opening of negotiation chapters 5 and 25 with Serbia, stressing that this is good news for both Serbia and the EU.

This is another step forward and a significant achievement this year. The total number of chapters that Serbia has started negotiations with has been increased to six and that means Serbia's progress on the overall path towards the EU, Lajcak said.

According to him, this is tangible proof of the credibility of the enlargement process as a two-way street.

We encourage Serbia to maintain a positive momentum and continue the reform path for the benefit of its citizens, he said.

Lajcak, whose country presides over the EU until the end of year, stressed that further progress depends on reforms and dialogue with Pristina, which remains essential.

He expressed satisfaction with the fact that during Slovakia’s presidency four chapters have been opened and one temporarily closed.

Hahn expressed his belief that Serbia will open more chapters next year than this year and said that it was decided to open two chapters today, but it is certain that Serbia will soon open Chapter 26 too, after which it will be seen what the further steps will be.

The European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations and Neighbourhood Policy said that the EU has 28 Member States, that there are always discussions about the opening of chapters, that some decisions take time, but it is sure that the fact that Chapter 26 has not been opened will not have an impact on the negotiation process.

He pointed out that Serbia is on a good path because so far it has opened six chapters in the negotiations with the EU – it has opened two today, one of which it closed immediately.

This is a good day for Serbia, Hahn added.

According to him, the quality has to be maintained, attention has to be paid to crucial areas including the normalization of relations with Pristina.

Europe insists on security, peace, stability, prosperity in everything that you do in Serbia and that is in the interest of its citizens, the European Commissioner underlined.