Serbia still awaiting green light to open Cluster 3

The Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union did not confirm whether the issue of opening Cluster 3 in Serbia's EU accession negotiations would be placed back on the agenda of EU member states before the summer recess, after no consensus was reached last week on the European Commission's recommendation.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said Serbia had made some progress after the setbacks identified in last year's enlargement report, but stressed that much more remained to be done, particularly in the area of the rule of law, CE Report quotes FENA.

Kos added that the European Commission had received signals from Belgrade indicating readiness for closer strategic alignment with the European Union.

"Following the setbacks noted in last year's enlargement report, Serbia has taken some steps forward. There is still much work to be done, especially in the area of the rule of law. We are also receiving signals that Serbia is ready for stronger strategic alignment with the European Union. If it delivers on that, we will continue recommending the next step," Kos said.

Asked whether it was still possible to reach consensus on opening Cluster 3 during July, Kos replied that the matter was for the Irish Presidency to decide.

Ireland's Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, said the Presidency would continue consultations with EU member states and Serbia on advancing the accession process, but avoided confirming whether it would make another attempt to secure agreement before the end of July.

"There is still work ahead of us, but as Ireland's minister, I remain committed to discussions with member states and Serbia to see how we can move its accession process forward," Byrne said ahead of the meeting of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels.

The statements were made ahead of today's meeting of the General Affairs Council and intergovernmental conferences with Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine, prompting officials in Brussels to describe 14 July as a "super Tuesday" for EU enlargement policy.

Serbia is not among the countries holding an intergovernmental conference today, as member states failed to unanimously approve the opening of Cluster 3 last week.

During today's intergovernmental conferences, Montenegro is expected to provisionally close Chapters 8 and 29, Albania will close Chapters 25, 26, and 30, while Ukraine and Moldova will open Cluster 6, covering external relations and the Common Foreign, Security and Defence Policy.

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