Ashton: Serbia meets all requirements

BRUSSELS Serbia achieved impressive progress in the normalization of relations with Pristina and it is time to open accession talks with the EU, says Catherine Asthon. The EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy spoke late on Monday. Ashton: Serbia meets all requirements "I did express to the ministers how impressed I have been with the progress that has been made and the commitment that exists between the prime ministers and their teams,” Ashton told reporters after the first day of the meeting of the EU Council in Brussels. “When you look at the list of achievements from the April agreement, I think it is really impressive. In some areas we have gone much further, faster than I thought we would,” she said. “What we are looking at now are the final details around the justice system,” Ashton stated. “What I have said to the ministers is that I do hope that the decision will be made and my recommendation would be that we should do as we said and organize the intergovernmental conference to move forward with Serbia,” Ashton told a news conference. "All requirements" Catherine Ashton will inform the EU foreign ministers on Tuesday that Serbia has met all requirements for the opening of the EU accession negotiations and urge them to open the talks, Tanjug learned after seeing Ashton's report. “As I asked you last June, so I would also ask you today to recognize that, as this report demonstrates, the two sides have implemented substantially all the elements in the April agreement,” reads the speech that Ashton has prepared for Tuesday's meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels. In the five-page document, which describes the progress in the implementation of the first agreement on normalization of the Belgrade-Pristina relations, Ashton explains in detail all that has been achieved to date in a number of areas including holding of the local elections in Kosovo, police and the IBM. As for judiciary, the topic on which Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci failed to reach an agreement last Friday, Ashton said that “further work needs to be done on the premises in the (Kosovska) Mitrovica region as well as on the precise number of judicial staff in those premises”. “The Kosovo Judiciary will continue to operate as an integrated judiciary with one Supreme Court, one Appellate Court, one Basic Court and one Basic Prosecution Office for the Mitrovica region. Kosovo Serb judicial staff will be integrated in all Kosovo structures at all levels for the first time,” the document reads. “From the above it is clear that Serbia has delivered on all key elements, in particular by accepting one Basic Court and one Basic Prosecution Office for the Mitrovica region,” the EU High Representative said. “Does this mean that all the work is done now and we can call it “case closed”? Of course not. Normalization does not happen overnight and the agreements of the magnitude of the April Agreement take time to digest,” Ashton will say in her Tuesday's address. “The two parties and I will continue to follow up and develop this process further,” Ashton said. The EU foreign ministers will determine on Tuesday the date of the first EU-Serbia intergovernmental conference and adopt the framework for the accession negotiations. Tanjug

Ashton: Serbia meets all requirements

"I did express to the ministers how impressed I have been with the progress that has been made and the commitment that exists between the prime ministers and their teams,” Ashton told reporters after the first day of the meeting of the EU Council in Brussels.

“When you look at the list of achievements from the April agreement, I think it is really impressive. In some areas we have gone much further, faster than I thought we would,” she said.

“What we are looking at now are the final details around the justice system,” Ashton stated.

“What I have said to the ministers is that I do hope that the decision will be made and my recommendation would be that we should do as we said and organize the intergovernmental conference to move forward with Serbia,” Ashton told a news conference.

"All requirements"

Catherine Ashton will inform the EU foreign ministers on Tuesday that Serbia has met all requirements for the opening of the EU accession negotiations and urge them to open the talks, Tanjug learned after seeing Ashton's report.

“As I asked you last June, so I would also ask you today to recognize that, as this report demonstrates, the two sides have implemented substantially all the elements in the April agreement,” reads the speech that Ashton has prepared for Tuesday's meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels.

In the five-page document, which describes the progress in the implementation of the first agreement on normalization of the Belgrade-Priština relations, Ashton explains in detail all that has been achieved to date in a number of areas including holding of the local elections in Kosovo, police and the IBM.

As for judiciary, the topic on which Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci failed to reach an agreement last Friday, Ashton said that “further work needs to be done on the premises in the (Kosovska) Mitrovica region as well as on the precise number of judicial staff in those premises”.

“The Kosovo Judiciary will continue to operate as an integrated judiciary with one Supreme Court, one Appellate Court, one Basic Court and one Basic Prosecution Office for the Mitrovica region. Kosovo Serb judicial staff will be integrated in all Kosovo structures at all levels for the first time,” the document reads.

“From the above it is clear that Serbia has delivered on all key elements, in particular by accepting one Basic Court and one Basic Prosecution Office for the Mitrovica region,” the EU High Representative said.

“Does this mean that all the work is done now and we can call it “case closed”? Of course not. Normalization does not happen overnight and the agreements of the magnitude of the April Agreement take time to digest,” Ashton will say in her Tuesday's address.

“The two parties and I will continue to follow up and develop this process further,” Ashton said.

The EU foreign ministers will determine on Tuesday the date of the first EU-Serbia intergovernmental conference and adopt the framework for the accession negotiations.