EU representative on Assembly incident, EU, and Kosovo talks

EU representative on Assembly incident, EU, and Kosovo talks

He told the N1 broadcaster that while it was up to the Assembly to invite him again, he would in the meantime hold "a series of meetings with representatives of civil society, not only in Belgrade but also in Nis and Novi Sad."

Speaking about Serbia's EU membership negotiation process, he said the European Commission made a recommendation to open chapter 5 relating to public procurement, "which is very important for the fight against corruption."

"It is now up to Serbia to present its negotiating position to the EU. I heard that in the government will do that in the coming period," said Davenport.

According to him, although the chapter that relates to foreign policy has not been opened, the EU has a clear position - that a candidate country must align with EU's foreign policy.

"When it comes to EU accession it will have to be fully harmonized. Serbia has the right to its foreign policy and it is natural that Serbia wants to intensify its relations with Russia and China, but it would be better not to do so in a way that undermines the path toward EU membership," Davenport has been quoted as saying by Tanjug.

He also "reiterated that the EU delegation in Serbia has good relations with the Serbian government at all levels, and that the progress report does not refer to the government, but to the entire society."

According to him, "it is clear that Serbia is moving forward and this report shows that" - but more work should be done on the independence of the judiciary, better cooperation with civil society, on implementing the recommendations of independent bodies such as the ombudsman, and on freedom of the media.

Speaking about the media, Davenport said there are good legal frameworks but that work needs to be done on their implementation.

"When it comes to freedom of the press, it is essential that the process of project financing is transparent. We're still at the beginning of the implementation of this legislation, the privatization process has not been completed, we have the issue Tanjug, where the situation around the legalization is unclear. We are witnessing attacks on journalists, which is unacceptable," he said.

Davenport also commented on the agreement on telecommunications reached between Belgrade and Pristina to say he supported it "because it is in the interest of all citizens," adding that this will be "an incentive for progress" in other elements such as the dialogue on energy issues and on the Community of Serb Municipalities.

He said that the negotiating framework for Serbia's accession to the EU defines a comprehensive normalization of relations, but that chapter 35, which refers to relations between Belgrade and Pristina, "does not imply a recognition of Kosovo."