Starovic in Brussels: Committed to EU membership, expecting opening of Cluster 3

Serbian Minister for European Integration Nemanja Starovic stated today in Brussels, following his meeting with European Commissioner Marta Kos, that the Serbian Government is strongly committed to EU membership and expects that, after two and a half years, Cluster 3 in the negotiation process will finally be opened.

While in Brussels, Starovic also met with Gert Jan Koopman, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations. As he noted, in all meetings he conveyed the Serbian Government’s commitment and expectations.

“We believe that with a little good will from all three sides—the Government of Serbia, the European institutions, and the member states who have the final say—the opening of Cluster 3 could take place as early as July. This would allow us to focus in the second half of the year on implementing all necessary reforms to create the conditions for opening additional negotiation clusters by the end of the year,” Starovic said.

He also emphasized during the meetings in Brussels that Serbia must finally receive the report on the interim benchmarks, known as the IBAR.

“This is a necessary prerequisite for the continuation of the accession process and for us to finally begin closing the negotiation chapters that have already been opened,” Starovic stressed.