Latvia supports Serbia in opening EU accession chapters

RIGA - Latvia will try to ensure that some chapters in Serbia's EU accession talks are opened during its EU Presidency, starting on January 1, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said Wednesday after a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic.

Dacic met in Riga with Latvia's Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma, Parliament Speaker Inara Murniece and the foreign minister.

Latvia will do everything to ensure than the EU and Serbia start the accession negotiations on several chapters, Rinkevics told a joint press conference after the meeting with Dacic.

We must, of course, wait for the opinion of the European Commission but we believe that the opportunity for close cooperation will open during our presidency, Rinkevics added.

Dacic thanked Riga on the continuing support to Serbia on its EU path and expressed hope that Latvia will help Serbia start opening the negotiation chapters during its EU presidency.

Serbia's main strategic goal is to join the EU and we want to continue making swift and substantial progress towards that goal, said Dacic.

He voiced hope that overcoming the difficulties with the formation of the government in Pristina will help resume the implementation of the Brussels agreement and speed up the decision on the opening of certain negotiation chapters.

The entire Western Balkans expects Latvia to confirm the EU's commitment to the region's European integration, said Dacic.
The two ministers also discussed the strengthening of bilateral ties, and Dacic said that all the preconditions for this have been met as the two countries have no open issues.

We also discussed the coordination of foreign policy between the EU and the candidate countries, as...