Decision on the opening of Negotiation Chapters 7 and 29 has been adopted today at the Sixth Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg. Serbia’s Negotiating Positions for Chapter 7 - Intellectual Property Law, and Chapter 29 - Customs Union were presented at the conference. The Delegation of Serbia was headed by Jadranka Joksimović, Minister responsible for European integration, while Helena Dalli, Maltese Minister of European affairs, represented the EU Council, and Christian Danielsson, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, attended on behalf of the European Commission.
“Through the opening of chapters we are showing that we have entered the reform process for the sake of our society and citizens, as well as for the end goal - the accession to the EU. I would like to emphasise that Serbia is primarily dedicated to reforms at the internal agenda, and we believe that European integration is the best path and mechanism to achieve them”, said Jadranka Joksimović, Minister responsible for European integration, at the press conference held after the opening of chapters. She added that Chapter 7 on intellectual property law was important for citizens and economy, for legal security, for both authors and their copyright, as well as for combating production and distribution of fake products, and for research and development. Chapter 29 on customs union covers regulations and mechanisms for automatic application of all customs procedures for import and export, for transit, which improves business environment.
Director-General of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson said that the meeting was “very good”: “It very clearly demonstrated that the European perspective of Serbia is solid and realistic. We have opened two chapters, on intellectual property and customs union, and both these chapters are related to areas broader than the EU accession itself. They are essential for the competitiveness of Serbian economy”.
