BRUSSELS - The Council of the European Union commended on Tuesday the progress Serbia made in internal reforms and in the normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations, noting, however, that there is still work to be done.

“The Council welcomes the progress made by Serbia in the past year, including in public administration reform, judicial reform and the fight against corruption and organized crime,” reads the document adopted on Tuesday at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

The Council welcomes the launch of accession negotiations with Serbia and commends the high level of preparedness and engagement demonstrated by the Serbian government in the screening process, noting that chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) are to be addressed early in the negotiations, and that progress under these chapters is to be made in parallel with the progress in negotiations overall.

The ministers encouraged Serbia to further intensify its reform process, specifying that particular attention needs to be paid to the rights of Roma and other national minorities, tackling discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and the matter of freedom of expression, noting with concern the deteriorating conditions for the full exercise of this freedom.

The ministers also commended the progress achieved in the dialogue on the normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations.

“The Council will continue to monitor closely Serbia's continued engagement towards visible and sustainable progress in the normalization of relations with Kosovo, including the implementation in good faith of all agreements reached so far, so that Serbia and Kosovo can continue on their respective European paths.”

The conclusion related to chapter 35 on the normalization process, similar as for chapters 23 and 24, reads that this chapter should be among the first to be opened and that the progress needs to be made in parallel with the progress in negotiations overall.

The Council also called on Serbia to progressively align with EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.