EC: Recommendations remain in place, Cluster 3 technically ready for opening

BRUSSELS - European Commission recommendations remain in place - Serbia has met the criteria for opening Cluster 3 (Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth) in its accession talks and the cluster is technically ready for opening, says a draft 2025 EC report on the EU accession policy, seen by Tanjug.

The document, due to be presented to the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs by EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos on Tuesday, says Serbia has made certain progress in the economic criteria, the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services, movement of capital, financial services, energy, the environment, fisheries, taxes, digital transformation and trans-European networks.

It also notes that Serbia has begun to implement a new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans in all four pillars of successive integration with the EU - a single market, regional economic integration, fundamental reforms and increased financial support.

It also says the overall pace of Serbia's accession talks will depend on rule of law reforms and normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina relations.

It adds that the Serbian government has designated EU membership as its strategic goal and set end-2026 as a new, more ambitious target date for meeting the technical criteria for membership.

Accomplishing Serbia's EU accession objectives requires strong political will, an approach by the whole society, efficient planning and policy coordination, as well as sufficient human and financial resources in all institutions involved, the document says.

It also notes that an anti-EU narrative is evident not only in Serbian media outlets, but also used by political office-holders, including those at the highest levels, and that Serbian authorities still need to take much greater responsibility for a proactive, more objective communication about the EU accession process, as well as for countering disinformation and information manipulation.