Serbia "expects EU to appreciate its efforts"

Serbia "expects EU to appreciate its efforts"

BELGRADE -- Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić says he expects EU members "to recognize and appreciate the efforts Serbia is investing in the process of EU integration."

In his opinion, this would allow the planned pace of the opening of first negotiation chapters by the end of 2014 to be maintained.

Dačić met on Thursday in Belgrade with a delegation of the Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA).

He informed the diplomats from 28 EU member states and representatives of the European Commission about reforms and legislative activities that Serbia carried out in order to open first chapters in the negotiation process by the end of this year.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Dačić stressed the current course of screening, within which screening of 14 chapters was complete, while seven was still pending, has been rated as successful, while Serbia "has shown that it has good administrative capacity."

Bearing in mind that bilateral screening for Chapter 31 - on foreign and security policy of the EU - will be held on October 10, and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs leads activities related to this, today's talks "paid special attention to areas relevant to the consideration of this chapter, such as the support for foreign and security policy of the EU and regional cooperation in the Balkans."

Dačić also "took the opportunity to inform COELA members about the intense international agenda and a number of foreign policy activities, particularly stressing the great responsibility that Serbia will have next year when it takes the presidency of the OSCE, as well as the importance of the...