Failure to open first EU chapter is "missed opportunity"

Failure to open first EU chapter is "missed opportunity"

“We tried to impose the opening of the first chapter in the early stage of the talks because we sensed that we are ready and that this is needed. Still, this is a good lesson which teaches us that we must not forget that the decision on opening the chapters is always a political one,” Miscevic said replying to the question as to whether she regards the decision not to open the first negotiating chapter in December as her own failure.

Miscevic underscored that the Stabilisation and Association Agreement is being implemented successfully and that Serbia's exchange with the EU has reached 64 percent of the country's total external trade.

The program of IPA funds usage for the year of 2015 to the total value of EUR 184 million has also been drafted, the funds allocated for the previous year have been used up to 94 percent, and the European Commission in its annual report qualified the implemented reforms as positive, she said.

Commenting on the stand that Serbia is expected to assume a more active approach to the implementation of the Brussels agreement so that Chapter 35 in the accession talks would be opened, Miscevic said that after a several month long vacuum and absence of the Pristina government, problems in the talks on the technical level are inevitable.

The call for a more active approach has certainly been addressed to both Belgrade and Pristina, she said.

Miscevic noted that she is following the talks on the technical level and added that she is often surprised by the degree of willingness to compromise as demonstrated by the Serbian side, and the lack of it on the part of Pristina. She underscored that it is important to learn the framework for the negotiating process in Chapter 35 because it constitutes a novelty and there are no previous experiences thereon.

Miscevic also said that Serbia has the obligation to gradually adjust its foreign policy to Europe and that it needs to be fully adjusted at the moment when it would be granted membership.

The degree of adjustment is currently being measured through statistics, in terms of the number of decisions and resolutions the country is joining, as well as some other activities such as participation and contribution of Serbia to EU crisis management missions, Miscevic said.