Jagland congratulated Serbia on receiving European Union candidate status, saying he expected that the requirements necessary to set the date for launching negotiations on Serbia’s EU accession would be met by the end of the year. This confirms Serbia’s dedication to the European idea and firm commitment to fully join the family of European nations.
However, it is presumed that countries initiating negotiations with the EU have beforehand met the high standards of the Council of Europe, primarily as regards the rule of law, compulsory for all EU members. The Monitoring Committee’s last year’s Report on Serbia states that the judiciary reform has not been completed and that the fight against corruption and organised crime needs to further development.
The Secretary General thanked Serbia for its support of Council of Europe reforms.
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Dragoljub Micunovic said that the Monitoring Committee’s Report on Serbia was objective and strict, and that Serbia expected the monitoring to be rescinded, which it was not. We are aware that the judiciary reform is not complete even though it has progressed from what the situation in the sphere was before and that the area needs a lot more work primarily to eliminate the irregularities brought to attention by the PACE Monitoring Committee. He stressed that Serbia has begun a thorough judiciary reform which has resulted in some hasty solutions and inconsistencies which have to be overcome.
Thanks to the great efforts invested by Serbia and neighbouring countries, the Balkans are becoming more stable, opined Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Dragoljub Micunovic.