Brnabic meets with COELA representatives

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic met with representatives of the Council of the EU Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA) on Thursday.

Brnabic noted that EU membership was a strategic commitment and the priority of Serbia's foreign policy, and added that the EU was Serbia's most significant external trade partner, accounting for two thirds of its total external trade, the Serbian government said in a statement.

Brnabic reminded the representatives that Serbia was ready to open Cluster 3 in its EU accession talks, which deals with competitiveness and inclusive growth, and that the European Commission had on two occasions called on member states to support that step in the talks process, but that that had not taken place as yet.

She noted that Belgrade remained fully committed to dialogue with Pristina but that it insisted on all commitments from agreements reached to date being met.

She reiterated that implementation of the Brussels Agreement had been guaranteed by the EU and that the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities was now over ten years overdue.

She especially noted that Pristina had met none of its commitments from the Brussels Agreement and that rewarding this with support for launching the procedure of its admission to the Council of Europe was contradictory and unprincipled.

Belgrade opposes such developments in the strongest possible way, Brnabic said.

She noted that Serbia was committed to cooperation with the EU on foreign and security policy.

She reminded the representatives that, under the negotiating framework, Serbia needed to gradually align it policies with the EU by the time of its entry to the bloc.

Brnabic also pointed out Serbia's commitment to good-neighbourly cooperation, which she said was necessary in further development of the region, as well as that the Open Balkan initiative was inclusive in character and open to all in the region.

In that context, she noted the significance of regional cooperation and stability.

Brnabic said rule of law reforms were a priority and would be continued strongly, and added that progress had been achieved in nearly all fields of rule of law, the reform process, the fight against corruption and organised crime, the visa policy and media.

On behalf of the Swedish COELA presidency, Susanna Leesik reiterated an EU commitment to Serbia's EU membership perspective and noted that the EU was Serbia's largest investor, donor and trade partner.

The EU member states noted the significance of Serbia further accelerating and implementing reforms in fundamental areas such as rule of law and fundamental human rights, the independence of the judiciary and its functioning, freedom of expression - including media freedoms - and the fight against corruption and organised crime.

The EU member states reiterated EU expectations that, as a partner country and accession candidate, Serbia will align with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy - including with EU restrictive measures - as the key aspect of the EU integration process and a strong expression of a strategic choice of partners and a place in a community of values.

The EU member states welcomed the agreement on a road map to normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina relations, which sets the EU-facilitated dialogue on a firm path to the future and paves the way for comprehensive normalisation, and expressed the expectation all provisions of the agreement and its annex will be implemented, the statement said.