Apostolovic: No suspension of EU funds for Serbia at this time

BRUSSELS - The head of a Serbian operating team for EU accession talks Danijel Apostolovic, who is also Serbia's chief negotiator in the talks, said on Tuesday there was no formal European Commission decision at this time on a suspension of EU Growth Plan funds for Serbia, and noted that Serbia would implement recommendations by the Venice Commission and pass, by this June, laws that were important for advancement of the electoral process.

"I am confident that there will be no suspension of funds for Serbia from the EU Growth Plan or any other financial instrument. We will simply not allow that to happen," said Apostolovic, who is also head of Serbia's Mission to the EU.

He said media speculation about a suspension of funds had proved to be untrue, and noted that Serbia would not let such a scenario happen.

"At this time, there is no formal decision by the EC in that sense. There has been media speculation and announcements that have turned out to be inaccurate," Apostolovic said.

He added that Serbia had communicated to the EC clearly that it would comply with all Venice Commission recommendations regarding a recently passed set of judicial laws as soon as the recommendations were submitted.

"I believe that, by June, we will pass five laws implementing all ODIHR recommendations that are important for the electoral cycle," Apostolovic said.

Even though there are some outstanding issues in the relations with the EC, they are being resolved through dialogue, he added.

"At this time, there are no fears that the funds for Serbia will be suspended or blocked in any way," Apostolovic noted.

Some pro-opposition media outlets have reported that EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos would announce a suspension of Growth Plan funds for Serbia at Monday's session of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, but that did not happen.

At the session, Kos said the EC was still considering whether to disburse the funds to Belgrade, and added that Serbia was expected to fully align its judicial laws with Venice Commission recommendations and to ensure full freedom of expression and media freedoms.