BRUSSELS – Serbia opened two new chapters in its EU accession talks at an intergovernmental conference in Brussels on Monday.
The chapters opened were Chapter 6 (Company Law) and Chapter 30 (External Relations).
The Serbian delegation at the intergovernmental conference was headed by European Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimović.
The EU member states were represented by Estonian FM Sven Mikser and the European Commission by Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn.
The decision to open two rather than three new chapters in Serbia’s EU accession talks is a “political decision” by the EU member states, Tanjug learns in Brussels.
The decision is aimed at supporting Serbia’s progress in European integration while pointing out the country can do better, especially in terms of judicial reforms and the anticorruption policy.
According to Tanjug’s diplomatic sources in Brussels, the decision to open Chapters 6 and 30 – but not Chapter 33 – in December is based on the position of EU member states that believe Serbia is not working sufficiently on implementing the Action Plan for Chapter 23 in particular.
This position was taken by countries including Germany, France, UK, Croatia and Sweden in the wake of a regular European Commission report on Serbia’s progress on Chapters 23 and 24, which relate to rule of law.