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Second Serbia-EU Intergovernmental Accession Conference held |
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![]() The Second Serbia-EU Intergovernmental Accession Conference was opened by the Luxembourg Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn. The speakers at the Conference included Austrian, Greek and Hungarian Foreign Ministers, French Minister of State for European Affairs, and Czech Deputy Foreign Minister, in addition to Minister Asselborn, Commissioner Hahn and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who stressed that Serbia's goal was membership of the European Union but that an even greater goal for it was alignment with the European values in order to improve the overall quality of life in Serbia. Serbia's PM Aleksandar Vucic and Head of Diplomacy Ivica Dacic stated immediately before the opening of the first chapters that the Serbian side was absolutely ready and willing to complete the negotiations by the end of 2019. The European Commission's officials agreed already at the screening stage that the Serbian authorities were well-prepared and that their public administration was capable of coping with the burden of long and demanding negotiations. The opening of the first chapters in EU accession negotiations represents not only acknowledgement for the achievements of the Serbian Government, but also indicates that Serbia's European path is irreversible and that it aspires to a society based on European values. According to European officials, the Intergovernmental Conference was not solely a technical matter of opening the first chapters, but also a new stage in the European integration process with Serbia, whose reforms, progress in the dialogue with Pristina, and the contribution towards better regional relations were key for the step now taken. Next chapters that Serbia might open in the first half of 2016 are Chapter 23 on judiciary and fundamental rights, and Chapter 24 on justice, freedom and security. |