Serbia's operating team for EU accession discusses further steps to accelerate talks

BELGRADE - Serbia's operating team for EU accession met on Friday to discuss further steps to accelerate the accession talks, review progress achieved to date and address challenges requiring timely and coordinated action.

The meeting, chaired by the head of Serbia's Mission to the EU Danijel Apostolovic, especially focused on transitional benchmarks in chapters related to rule of law.

The attendees highlighted the importance of setting goals that are both ambitious and realistic, and guided by criteria set in all the clusters and aligned with a European Commission report on Serbia and the reform agenda, the Serbian Mission to the EU said in a statement.

The team again confirmed that the reforms were not merely aimed at formally meeting requirements, but at achieving real and permanent changes.

It also confirmed a strong political commitment, institutional expertise and a joint determination to advance the reforms in terms of both substance and quality.

Even though there is still much work to be done, there is an even stronger focus and commitment to accelerating Serbia's EU path in the interest of its citizens, the statement said.

The meeting was attended by Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic, Justice Minister Nenad Vujic and officials of key institutions involved in the EU accession process.