Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has stated that the European Commission's Report indicated that Serbia has achieved overall progress and that there has been no backsliding in any areas, which is certainly positive, stressing that she believes that, within the period covered by the Progress Report, Serbia has achieved more than it has been noted.
“I hope that the Member States that will analyse this Report will find elements that would enable the opening of certain chapters we are ready for by the end of June. Only this would be objective, and I expect two chapters to be opened based on the Report”, said Joksimović at a press conference after the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Sem Fabrizi, handed over the Progress Report to Prime Minister Ana Brnabić.
According to Joksimović, this year's Report is specific for at least two reasons, the first being that it was kept far away from those it refers to, i.e. that all the countries in the region received it only at 1 p.m.
The second reason that is crucial is the fact that political assessments were given in two or three areas, Joksimović stated, stressing that she believes political assessments have no place in the Report, as perceptions and political assessments often obscured the purity of facts, while the fact is that Serbia has achieved more in the previous year than it has been indicated in the Report.
"There is a whole set of areas that have been evaluated in an objective manner: in some areas there is less progress, in others there is more, but in general, progress has been noted in all areas, except regarding the situation in the media and freedom of expression, which have been noted as a areas with no progress, although there is a list of all activities we have implemented in the previous period, which were criticised in the previous Report and due to which we received a ‘no progress’ assessment”, said the Minister.
According to her, the media strategy, the resolution of the Ćuruvija murder case, as well as the efficiency of state authorities and competent institutions in prosecuting those who attacked and threatened journalists, were all correctly noted, however, the ‘no progress’ assessment remained, which is a “confusing deduction methodology”.
“In my opinion, another area where a political assessment has been included is the evaluation of the parliament’s work, where it is stated that there has been no initiative from the ruling coalition for establishing inter-party discussions and cooperation, however, it has also been noted that the National Assembly Speaker invited representatives of the opposition to participate in the exchange of opinions, but simultaneously without any mention of the fact that part of the opposition rejected this initiative. I believe that this sort of assessment is not balanced and that it should not have been included in the Report”, stated Joksimović.
According to her, the fight against corruption has been assessed as achieving some progress, primarily through the adoption of the Anti-Corruption Law and the closing of certain cases. It has further been noted that additional political will is needed. The Report notes that in terms of national minorities and minority rights, Serbia stands extremely well.
Joksimović has also observed that continuous advancement in regional cooperation has been evaluated as good progress, the same as Chapter 24, where Serbia was particularly commended for its conduct and participation in resolving the migration crisis and for its current position on the issue, adding that all recommendations from the FATF Action Plan have been fulfilled, which should remove Serbia from FATF’s Grey list by the end of June.
“The economic criteria are excellent, good progress has been noted everywhere, while the area of judiciary has been assessed as showing progress”, stated Joksimović.
She has continued by saying that, until now, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue process was presented through a narrative that was the same for Serbia and so-called Kosovo, but that this time the EC noted that the introduction of 100% taxes was the reason why the dialogue had come to a standstill, stressing that Serbia remained dedicated to the dialogue and was not the cause of the deadlock.
“We expected that there would be more criticism in regards to that matter. We heard that so-called Kosovo was invited to abolish the taxes, however, there was no mention of that in our Report”, concluded Joksimović.
Brnabić: It is better to be honest about the Report than praise it
Prime Minister Ana Brnabić has expressed her expectations that the EU will carefully consider what she noted today on the account of the EC Report – that criticism levelled against Serbia was in the domain of political opinion and preference of certain political options.
When asked by journalists how the EU would respond when they saw her statement that the EC’s Report on Serbia had entertained her, Brnabić replied that her remarks concerning the Report were legitimate, fair and honest and that she expected further discussions on this matter.
“I believe they will be glad and capable of appreciating our openness. It is better to present our opinion than say that the Report is fantastic or great, but then to indicate in the recommendations that everything is wrong.”
Brnabić has stated that Serbia will certainly pay attention to the recommendations and certain issues that have been listed in the Report.
“It is crucial that we react now, because whenever we failed to react in time, we spent a lot more time rectifying the wrongs. If we had reacted in time and pointed to the obstruction of a part of the opposition at the time when we were unable to hold a parliamentary session due to several days of prolonged agenda adoption, and when we had more than 1,800 amendments saying “shall be deleted”; if we had discussed those issues then and had the media also drawn attention to that situation, I do not believe that we would have such a Report today.”
In her words, it is better to draw EU’s attention on the matter today than to let it go, “and then have serious nonsense to respond to in the following Reports”.
“We are late with the adoption of laws because that part of the opposition that calls itself democratic is boycotting the work of the parliament and that is why our European integration is suffering,” stated Brnabić.
She has communicated that the EU and European values are certainly Serbia’s strategic goal.
Brnabić has also indicated that the debate in the parliament, during which President Aleksandar Vučić presented Reports on Kosovo and Metohija, was a good example of parliamentary debate, over the course of which opposition MPs participated and presented everything they wanted to.
Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi has stated on the matter that the EC Report is objective, balanced and inclusive, and not biased.
Fabrizi has said that the EC does not make any concessions on this issue, and that the Report only shows how the EU perceives the reform process, adding that the EU is not there to deal with politics, but to evaluate how much has been achieved in relation to certain criteria.
“We in Brussels will really take note of what the Prime Minister has said”, added Fabrizi.
He has stated that the EC Report was approved by 27 EU Member States and it this is not a Report prepared by the EU Delegation to Serbia.
Fabrizi has further said that the remarks on Chapters 23 and 24 should not come as a surprise, as they have been pointed out in the previous Reports as well.
“We are not here to apply double standards, we have just given our assessment based on a predictable methodology”, added Fabrizi.
He has said that the Report does not pose an obstacle for Serbia to open new chapters and that the EU expects constructive engagement from Serbia concerning the recommendations contained in the Report.
Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimović has highlighted that European integration is a meeting of two political wills: a candidate country ready to accept the adoption of all set criteria and the EU, but that it is also a partnership relationship in which no one should be inferior, where one party could say anything and the other nothing.
“This is a faulty understanding of the European integration process. Just as we accept and acknowledge everything that comes from the EU, we also certainly expect that what we have to say in this partnership should echo across the EU”, stated Joksimović.
Responding to a question posed at the press conference, organised after Serbia received the Progress Report, on how the EC will respond to what has been said in Belgrade today, she has said that she believes it is also a legitimate question of how a candidate country would react to statements made by the EU.
“Of course, we are in a position where we have to adopt standards, be evaluated, and that is alright, we are not running away from it. It is equal criteria for all that matter to us”, stated Joksimović.
According to her, the process of European integration is a process of two political wills, and nobody is making Serbia do anything.
“The EU is our political choice, we have made a decision and I consider it vital for the EU to gain a credible attitude from a country that has decided to become part of common values that, along with all the problems that the EU occasionally has, provide the best framework for life and work”, concluded Joksimović.
Source: Tanjug
