EU Commission report shows Serbia has not regressed, only stagnated, says PM

The most important aspect of the EU Commission’s report is the absence of any regression in Serbia, and while progress has been observed in all key areas, there are three that show stagnation, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said about the report that analyses Serbia’s efforts to align their framework with European standards.

According to the report, there has been some progress in the judiciary, with a better assessment than last year, and steps have been taken to reduce the influence of politics on the judiciary.

“There are challenges and difficulties, especially related to Kosovo and Metohija, but nothing is unexpected in the report. Revolutionary changes should not be anticipated. It is important to proceed on the European path while safeguarding our national interests. Progress is crucial, particularly on the economic front”, says Brnabić.

“There has been limited progress in the fight against corruption and acknowledged that adopting an anti-corruption strategy would have been better”, she says, takes responsibility for this and guarantees a strategy will be developed in the next two to three months, considering all other recommendations from the Council of Europe and the EC.

The head of the EU delegation in Serbia, Emanuele Giofre, said that the EU Commission’s underlying principle regarding the 2023 report on Serbia is that expansion is a central issue in EU policy.

“There is an opportunity, and it should be seized. The message is that we need to work harder within the EU in candidate countries to achieve the goal” says Giofre and emphasized that this opportunity exists and should be utilised, noting that it is part of a broader expansion package adopted by the EU Commission today.

He mentioned that he handed the prime minister a new “Growth plan” for the Western Balkans with this report, which was part of this package. The EC proposed allocating €6 billion for this plan, including €2 billion in non-repayable aid and four favourable loans.

“The fundamental message underlying all these decisions is that expansion is a central issue for the EU”, highlighted Giofre.”

(Jelena Nikolić | Euractiv.rs)

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