Giaufret: It is time to intensify pace of reforms in Serbia

BELGRADE - The head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret said on Monday Serbia had confirmed that EU membership was its strategic goal, and noted that it was important to seize the moment and accelerate the pace of reforms and step up the joint work by the EU and Serbia.

At a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, to whom he presented the European Commission's 2024 annual report on Serbia during a meeting earlier in the day, Giaufret said that, more than ever, EU membership was a strategic decision.

"The Commission has again indicated that the benchmarks to open Cluster 3 (on competitiveness and inclusive growth) have been met, and now it is up to EU member states to decide that the overall progress has been made to enable the opening of this cluster," he said.

"Progress on rule of law reforms and normalisation of relations with Pristina will continue to determine the overall pace of accession negotiations," he said.

"The report noted that the pace of reforms in Serbia has slowed down also because of early parliamentary elections resulting in a pause of government and parliamentary activities... Now, with no elections in sight, we are certain that we will see progress in the upcoming period," Giaufret added.

"Now it is time to intensify the pace of reforms," he said.

"We continue standing by Serbia and assisting with technical assistance and financial support. We have been disbursing 4 bln euros of grants in the last ten years and we intend to continue the financial support.

Serbia has made commendable progress regarding the economic criteria and related reforms. This includes progress towards building a strong economy able to cope with the competitive pressure of the EU internal market," he said.

"We welcome also the progress on statistics, environment and regional policy. Serbia should now step up its progress on the fundamentals, the judiciary and fundamental rights," he said.

"Progress in these areas will determine the pace of the accession process. In this regard, we positively noted some progress regarding Chapter 24 on justice and home affairs, related, specifically, to the management of migration fluxes. We want to highlight the signing of the new Frontex status agreement as well as Serbia's commitment to further align with the EU visa policy regime by the end of this year. We also want to commend the good continued cooperation with CEPOL, Eurojust, Europol and Interpol and the excellent cooperation with the EU Drug Agency, notably, on drugs and drug trafficking and fighting against organised crime," Giaufret said.

He also said the EU expected Serbia to implement passed legislation and meet ODIHR recommendations on the electoral process.

He noted that Serbia was expected to progressively align with common foreign policy measures adopted by the EU, and commended Serbia for providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine and for participating in missions.

Giaufret also noted the significance of the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which he said was aimed at accelerating the pace of reforms and EU enlargement in the region.