Kovac: Serbia ready to open Cluster 3, EU expects guarantees for reforms

BELGRADE - Serbian Deputy Parliament Speaker Elvira Kovac said on Thursday Serbia was technically ready to open Cluster 3 in its EU accession talks and that technical criteria were no obstacle to further progress towards EU membership, but that political will and delivering on agreed commitments in a consistent manner were key.

"Serbia has been technically ready to open Cluster 3 for several years now. It has been said on several occasions. However, EU member states are seeking political guarantees that the reforms will not remain on paper only but that they will be carried out in practice," Kovac told the RTS.

She noted that the accession process was not only a political but a security issue as well and that the EU should clearly focus on the Western Balkans.