EP rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister says negotiations on Serbia's EU accession EU require "constant movement towards better relations with Kosovo".
He told the Belgrade-based tabloid Kurir that "this process should gradually lead to the normalization of relations between the two sides, with both being able to exercise their rights and fulfill their responsibilities."
Normalization of relations with Pristina is an issue directly affecting further progress of Serbia in the accession process, said Johannes Hahn, who welcomed Vucic’s initiative for internal dialogue on Kosovo, Danas daily reported.
The EU Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner, Johannes Hahn is in two-day visit to Serbia.
The EU will try to, through accession talks chapter 31, "force Serbia to change its attitude towards Russia - but Belgrade could still remain close to Russia," Sputnik reported.
It further said that Serbia will start negotiations on the chapter, that relates to alignment of foreign and security policy, in October.
This chapter is particularly sensitive to Serbia because it is military neutral and because it has close ties with the Russian Federation - and has not imposed sanctions on Moscow.
The conditions for Western Balkan countries to join the EU membership will not be met before the end of the mandate of the current European Commission (EC).
EC President Jean-Claude Juncker said this on Wednesday, during his "state of the union" address at the European Parliament.
Beta is reporting that Juncker "stressed the EU will have more than 27 member states in the coming years."
Head of the EU Election Observation Mission, Alojz Peterle, presented today the final report on parliamentary elections that took place in Kosovo on 11 June. The report contains 26 recommendations to local institutions aimed at improving the election process in the future. Peterle said political will is required to address problems with voter intimidation in areas inhabited by the Serb community. He also confirmed that the EU would deploy 100 observers for Kosovo local elections set to take on 22 October.
Russia will continue to try to influence the events in the Balkans, where Serbia is its most important link that serves as a launching ground.
This is according to Beta, which quoted Mark Galeotti of the Institute of International Relations Prague, who spoke for Radio Free Europe's Bosnia-Herzegovina/Serbia/Montenegro service.
Membership in the EU is the most important foreign policy goal of Serbia, Serbia's PM Brnabic has told a visiting British official.
However, she added during her meeting in Belgrade with Permanent Undersecretary at the Foreign Office Simon McDonald, "it is equally important how we will implement reforms on the path to membership."
US State Department official Hoyt Bryan Yee thinks that "integration and transformation" of the Western Balkans is in the interests of Brussels, and the region.
Speaking in Bled, Slovenia, he added that the readiness for this on the part of EU institutions is what is currently missing.
Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, hosted this morning in Brussels another meeting with the Presidents Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo and Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia.
Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, hosted this morning in Brussels another meeting with the Presidents Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo and Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia.