Acting Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for the European Union Dr. Marina Jovicevic attended an informal meeting for Directors-General in charge of the EU in the MFAs of both EU Member States and Candidate Countries for EU Membership, held within the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU in Luxembourg, on 16 and 17 July.

The meeting was devoted to the presentation of priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2015, followed by an exchange of views on challenges facing the EU in the next six-month period. Luxembourg has outlined as its priorities: encouraging investment growth and employment, deepening the social dimension of the EU, migration management, single market digitalization, promoting competitiveness, sustainable development and strengthening the global role of the EU. Luxembourg also singled out the work on the enlargement policy as one of the tasks they would remain committed to by the end of the year, which was supported by the attending representatives of EU Member States.

The Acting Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for the European Union thanked Latvia, the country previously holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU for its efforts aimed at opening the first negotiating chapters and Luxembourg, the country currently holding the Presidency, for putting the enlargement issue high on its agenda. Our expectation was conveyed that the decision would be made by the end of the year and that the first chapters will be opened, since Serbia was committed to working on creating conditions necessary for the opening of Chapters 23, 24 and 35 that have been identified as the most important ones, so that they could be ready for opening during the Luxembourg Presidency. Attention was also given to the migration issue, and to regional stability, where Serbia played a significant role.