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08. 10. 2014

European Commission: Serbia makes further progress

8.10.2014. (Tanjug) - Serbia has made further progress in the field of EU integration over the last year, but additional efforts are needed for putting reforms in place, primarily in the fields of judiciary, the fight against corruption and the normalization of relations with Pristina, the European Commission (EC) notes in its annual progress report that was presented in Brussels on Wednesday.

The report says that Serbia continues meeting the political criteria for full EU membership, that the Serbian government remained actively engaged toward the goal of EU accession throughout the last period and demonstrated preparedness and engagement in the first phase of the negotiation process.

"However, there are concerns about deteriorating conditions for the full exercise of freedom of expression," reads the report.

"A continued lack of transparency over media ownership and sources of media advertising and funding was accompanied by a tendency to self-censorship in the media," the Commission notes in the report.

The EC notes that Serbia is yet to carry out comprehensive reforms, adding that constitutional changes should be considered early on in the new legislature, so as to "to address issues of importance for the accession negotiations from the outset".

The report says that the bills should be rushed through parliament only when that is necessary, and underlines the need for strengthening independent regulatory bodies and acting upon their recommendations.

Davenport: Everything is going well on Serbia's road to EU

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport handed to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic Wednesday the latest European Commission's (EC) European integration progress report for Serbia.

This is a very important day for both Serbia and the European Union, Davenport said at a joint press conference after meeting with Vucic, to whom he also spoke about the new EU enlargement strategy.

He stressed that everything was going according to schedule despite all challenges and that Serbia had not wasted a single day in its EU accession talks and had made a lot of progress.

It is clear that Serbia has to focus on the rule of law, media freedom, freedom of expression, implementing the media strategy, and public administration, he said.

Vucic: EC report is for most part objective

Vucic qualified as very positive the section of the report that covers media freedoms, but he added that he did not get the answers to the questions as to who, where, when, how and why is exerting the alleged pressures on the media.