General Affairs Council of the EU today will not open the first negotiation chapter with Serbia. Belgrade must make progress in normalizing relations with Pristina, is Germany’s conditions, and not all EU Member states as it is often represented.
Serbia was technically ready to open chapter 32, but political consensus could not be reached because of the Berlin attitude, which seek progress in the negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina.
The regular annual conclusions of the Council of Ministers will be forwarded end of the week to the Heads of States or Governments for the definitive confirmation. There will not be anything spectacular in it; even it will not mention a possible date of the opening of the first chapter.
What currently the most hinders is the dialogue with Pristina. An entire section is devoted to relations with Kosovo in the draft conclusions. It highlights expectations of the full implementation of the Brussels Treaty, while insisting that chapter 35 to be followed, which in this case refers to the progress in normalizing relations with Pristina authorities, in parallel with progress of the accession negotiations as a whole.
