Von Beckerath: Serbia's future is in EU, reforms not easy but are necessary

BELGRADE - The head of the EU Delegation to Belgrade Andreas von Beckerath said on Thursday Serbia's future was in the EU and that that needed to be said clearly, and noted that reforms were not easy but were necessary on the path to EU membership.

Speaking at a press conference after presenting the European Commission's annual report on Serbia to President Aleksandar Vucic, von Beckerath said the report came at a crucial time in the context of a changing geopolitical situation.

He said EU enlargement was imperative and that the bloc was preparing for it, and added that the "war of aggression" against Ukraine had strengthened the enlargement process and the significance of reforms.

Von Beckerath also said EU enlargement was based on merit and that only true reforms led to the objective of democratic values and rule of law.

He said the pace of reforms in Serbia had slowed down considerably but that, on the positive side, there had been positive developments when it comes to economic criteria and EU internal market policies.

Von Beckerath said the technical prerequisites for opening Cluster 3 in Serbia's accession talks were in place but that it was up to the EU member states whether that would happen.