The upper house of Germany’s parliament, the Bundesrat, called for an early opening of the first chapter in the negotiations on Serbia’s membership in the EU without direct conditionality with the process progress in resolving the issue of Kosovo, according to a document in which Danas had access to.
According to the findings of Danas, the adoption of such a proposal initiated the province of Baden-Wuerttemberg, which recently visited the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. As stated in the document, Serbia must make efforts to normalize relations with Kosovo, but Kosovo issue should not be a condition for the opening of the first chapter, or that can be opened and at the beginning of the chapter that is not directly related to normalization.
The body, in which all 16 German provinces are represented, estimates that “Serbia has a crucial role for the stability of the Western Balkans”. In this context, it expresses the expectation that soon would be open chapters 23 and 24, in the process of accession of this state to the EU, concerning the justice and fundamental human rights. “In the area of rule of law, we expect Serbia to take visible and sustained efforts to improve the living conditions of citizens, particularly minorities,” reads the document adopted at the meeting held on Friday, February 6th. Bundesrat also calls on the government in Berlin to reconsider the proposal as soon as possible on the opening of Chapter 32, which relates to financial control, with the explanation that thus would encourage further reforms in Serbia’s public finances.
The document suggests that the countries of the Western Balkans “more than ever” need perspective of EU membership, because it is a “crucial factor” for further stabilization and consolidation of peace in Europe. “It is necessary that these countries implement the necessary reforms in the economy and the judiciary … Croatian accession to the EU in 2013 could be an incentive for other countries in the region to promote the principles of democratization,” said Bundesrat.
