Director of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo Marko Djuric stated that "the EU negotiating platform for Chapter 35 on Kosovo does not require the recognition of the unilaterally proclaimed independence of the southern Serbian province, but stated that difficult negotiations lie ahead of us."

According to him, the document contains the EU common position which requires implementation of the agreements reached so far, "leaving much room to the EU institutions and states to have their own interpretation concerning the way in which agreements should be implemented." "Of course, this process has certain risks. That is why it is important that we increasingly gain support from the international community," Djuric said.

"Chapter 35 is for us extremely difficult, because somehow it links normalization of relations with our southern province to Serbia's European integration," Djuric said adding that there was mitigation of the requirements, compared to the first draft. "However, given the fact that a large number of EU countries have recognized Kosovo independence, without doubt the forthcoming negotiations will be difficult."