Minister without portfolio responsible for European integration Jadranka Joksimovic said that the Serbian government established today a core team for negotiations with the EU, by which the negotiation structure has been rounded up.
Joksimovic told the Tanjug news agency that Serbia is thus sending a message to the EU that it has done everything that it was required as a candidate country, and that it will be ready for the opening of the first chapter by the end of the year.
The core negotiating team, she said, will participate in the creation of negotiating positions and will report to the government on the process of negotiations with the EU and from the intergovernmental conferences on specific chapters.
According to the Minister, the team consists of 24 members who are from the public administration, the academic community and NGOs.
She specified that the core negotiating team includes, by function, the state secretaries of the ministries of finance and foreign affairs, Head of the Mission of Serbia to Brussels, Director of the EU Integration Office and a representative of the Office of the Minister without portfolio.
The remaining 19 members of the team are from public administration, the ministries that already took part in the screening process, representatives of the academic community, the National Convent and NGOs, Joksimovic explained.
