Serbia's Operating Team for EU accession meets with EC officials

BELGRADE - Serbia's Operating Team for EU accession met with European Commission officials in Belgrade on Friday to discuss a snapshot of the accession talks and timelines for completing obligations related to preparations for opening the remaining clusters in the negotiations.

The meeting in the Serbian government building, co-chaired by the team's head and Serbian Ambassador to the EU Danijel Apostolovic, was also attended by Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood Gert Jan Koopman and the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Andreas von Beckerath and their advisers.

Apostolovic noted that the meeting was an excellent opportunity for a sincere exchange with EU officials on a snapshot of the accession talks and steps to accelerate them, as well as on challenges Serbia was facing.

"The officials discussed the indicative timelines for completing all obligations related to the preparation of the remaining clusters for opening, as well as the fulfilment of interim benchmarks for chapters in the area of the rule of law, with an emphasis on the need for planning to be both ambitious and realistic.

The participants presented the most significant steps within their respective areas and discussed upcoming activities in more detail.

It was concluded that regular communication with the European Commission will be maintained, and the implementation of the Operating Team’s plans will be closely monitored," the Serbian government said in a statement.

Serbia was represented by Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic, First Deputy PM and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali, Deputy PM and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic and Justice Minister Nenad Vujic.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Dragan Glamocic, Secretary-General of the Government of Serbia Petar Janjic, adviser to the PM Nemanja Dikovic, Director of the Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic and Assistant Minister of European Integration Miroslav Gacevic were also in attendance.