Formal decision on Chapter 23 expected June 1 - negotiator

Formal decision on Chapter 23 expected June 1 - negotiator

“The solution will be presented to us next Wednesday, when the decision, the agreement, should also be adopted in a meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives which convenes every Wednesday,” Miscevic told B92.

This means Serbia will be invited to present its negotiating positions and start the other part of the process, during which the country will provide European institutions with additional answers to certain questions, she added.

All this put together gives us enough time to remove all political and technical hurdles for the opening of the chapters by the end of June, Miscevic said.

In the meantime, media reported they learned from Croatia's Foreign Ministry that the news about the unblocking of the chapter was "sheer propaganda aimed at disinforming the public."

Zagreb-based professor Zoran Pusic commented on this jokingly for B92 by saying, "the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not even been informed that a deal had been reached."

Pusic added it would be in Croatia's interest, too, to have good cooperation with its neighbors.

"The (Croatian) authorities' behavior shows there are different attitudes, that it's best to have some perpetual enemy you can blame for all your failures. Unfortunately, that is very well known, but that shortsightedness is regrettable and to the country's detriment. I hope that under EU's pressure our politicians will, after all, exhibit normal behavior," he said.

"Propaganda"

Johannes Hahn said on Thursday that "a way has been found to open Chapter 23 in accession negotiations between Serbia and the EU by the end of June."

"We found a solution yesterday evening and we expect a formal decision to be made next week," the EU commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations told Tanjug.

He made this statement when asked "if the opening of that chapter would be unblocked" - but "did not go into much detail," the agency said.

Hahn told a news conference in Brussels that the text of a decision that will state Serbia has met the conditions to open chapter 23 has been agreed with Croatia, and the text of the common negotiating position of the EU.

Tanjug was told at the European Commission headquarters shortly before the briefing with Hahn that he would "have good news for Serbia."

Earlier in the day, Serbian state broadcaster RTS said it learned unofficially that Croatia had provided "written consent for Serbia to open chapter 23 in EU membership negotiations."

However, N1 broadcaster said it learned from the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that this report are "sheer propaganda aimed at disinforming the public."

Asked to comment on this, Hahn said there was "no disinformation" and that the decision had been harmonized "above all among EU member-states."

Hahn also said that "political agreement in general" had been reached.

An EC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that EU and Commission representatives and Croatia's Foreign Minister Miro Kovac on Wednesday evening had "a direct conversation" during which they found "an acceptable formula" when it comes to Serbia's jurisdiction over war crimes cases.

According to this official, the key is that Serbia's relevant law cannot be changed or abolished - as it is completely valid according to international law, and as several EU members have similar legislation - but that "it must not be used in a discriminatory manner."

Croatia was the only of EU's 28 member-states that in early May decided not to give its consent for the opening of the chapter, planned for next month.

The Dutch EU presidency at the time tried to reach consensus, raising the issue to a higher, ambassadorial level of decision-making.

A Croatian representatives said during a meeting held on May 4 that his country cannot agree with the opening of chapter 23, and repeated Croatia's arguments that Serbia must first abolish its law on universal jurisdiction in war crimes cases committed in the former Yugoslavia, and secure representation of ethnic Croats in parliament.

Some countries, Germany in particular, have insisted that the chapter must be opened in order to preserve the credibility of the process, and reminded Croatia that a resolution of its parliament obligates it not to block neighbors in EU integrations over bilateral issues that are not a part of EU legislation.