STRASSBOURG – “Serbia has made substantial progress on its path towards the European Union. The opening of the first chapters in December was a well-deserved recognition of the progress made in the last few months. There is still a lot of work ahead for Serbia, but the country can be assured of the European Parliament’s full support in their endeavour,” outlined David McAllister MEP, European Parliament Rapporteur on Serbia, when commenting on the debate in the European Parliament on the 2015 report on Serbia.
The EPP Group particularly welcomed the progress achieved in 2015 on the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo: “The latest agreements can be regarded as historic steps for Serbia. We call on both sides to implement, fully and in a timely manner, all existing agreements. Normalising relations with Kosovo is one of the main conditions for Serbia’s EU accession,” stressed McAllister. He also underlined the importance of regional cooperation: “Stability in the Western Balkans is of vital importance for the economic development of countries in the region and for their respective EU prospects.”
Furthermore he called on the Serbian government to remain actively committed to its strategic goal of EU accession: “We have seen good progress being made in a number of areas, but there is a need to make further progress in strengthening the rule of law, especially to fight organised crime and corruption. Serbia has to improve the planning, coordination and monitoring of how new legislation and policies are implemented.”