Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content

Unclear if EU chapters will be opened this year (B92)

While domestic analysts believe the talks' resumption was an important step in the negotiations, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said that a favorable outcome of the dialogue "can contribute to chapters being opened this year." The Belgrade train is on track to Brussels, but the speed of this train depends on the success of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. That is how David McAllister, EP rapporteur for Serbia, described the speed of Serbia's EU integration.

Despite the agreement on judiciary opening of the first chapter still pending (Politika)

Atmosphere in the European Commission indicates on a dose of discomfort there because nothing important took place between Serbia and the EU ever since of January 2014, said paper’s source familiar with the Brussels ‘affairs. According to the source, similar feeling is shared by most of the member states, but ‘nothing is happening’ still.

Tags

New arrests of migrants at Serbia-Hungary border (IRS)

The number of illegal crossings at Serbia-Hungary border, as well as the number of persons from Kosovo and Metohija illegally trying to reach the Schengen zone, increased slightly this Saturday, but, according to the Hungarian police, it is still several times lower compared to last weekend. In the last 24 hours, the Hungarian police arrested 550 persons illegally crossing the border, which is 75 more than on Friday. The charges were filed against three persons for human trafficking, and against another three for forgery.

Serbian illegal operator threatens population in the north (Koha online)

Illegal energy operator in northern Kosovo “Elektrokosmet” which supplies Serbs in this part with electricity, has started today to distribute notices that if they do not pay the energy bills, the will be disconnected from the network. Sources of Koha.net from the north informed that these warnings have been distributed to the population in Mitrovica, Zvecan/Zvecani, Leposavic and Zubin Potok. “"Pay electrical bills and show that you respect institutions of the Republic of Serbia,"” is written on these warnings.

Gorani seeking participation in the dialogue (KIM radio)

Gorani Citizens' Initiative has asked the Government of Serbia and its negotiating team, to include Gorani into talks on Kosovo. The statement says that "at this point, Gorani, as the non-Albanian population in Kosovo, in these negotiations no one represents, or anyone protects our interests." Gorani Citizens Initiative stated that the best example of this is the recent agreement on the judiciary in Kosovo, in which municipality of Gora and Gorani are not even mentioned. They asked Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic "not to forget that, in addition to Serbian population in Kosovo, and

Kosovo not to be a condition for the opening of the first chapter (Danas)

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.

Agreement on judiciary, implementation more challenging than signature (RTS)

Soon after the Brussels Agreement was signed a question was made whether implementation would be more challenging than its signing. For both, Belgrade and Kosovo Serbs, the agreement is a success in given circumstances, however both claim that there are no staff who could be engaged in the actual work. Three signatures in Brussels have opened many issues on the ground. The first problem identified in Belgrade is that there is no sufficient number of judges and prosecutors, who are supposed to fill out the work places provided by the agreement.