A meeting of the Operational Team for Serbia’s accession to the European Union was held today at the Government of the Republic of Serbia, chaired by Ambassador Danijel Apostolović, Head of the Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the EU, Head of this Team and Chief Negotiator.
The meeting was attended by Ana Brnabić, President of the National Assembly; Nemanja Starović, Minister of European Integration; Nenad Vujić, Minister of Justice; Veljko Odalović, Secretary of the Ministry of Interior; Petar Janjić, Secretary-General of the Government; Tanja Jović, Adviser to the President of the Republic; Nemanja Diković, Adviser to the Prime Minister; Petar Petković, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, as well as deputy members of the Operational Team.
Ambassador Apostolović spoke about the importance of the upcoming visit of António Costa, President of the European Council, to Belgrade, and the topics to be discussed at the European Union–Western Balkans Summit scheduled to take place on 5 June in Tivat. He then briefed the Operational Team about the outcomes of numerous meetings he had recently held in Brussels with ambassadors of European Union Member States, representatives of the Political and Security Committee, and representatives of European institutions, during which he advocated the acceleration of Serbia’s accession negotiations with the European Union. He also informed the Operational Team of a meeting he was due to hold with the chairs of all negotiating groups on 2 June 2026 concerning the recommendations contained in the European Commission’s 2025 Annual Report, assessing that the pace of their implementation needs to improve significantly. In addition, he announced that he would attend a meeting on the Reform Agenda on 2 June, as well as a session of the Public Administration Reform Council on 3 June, stressing the exceptional importance of this issue.
President of the National Assembly Ana Brnabić provided a detailed update on the work related to the implementation of ODIHR recommendations and, together with Nenad Vujić, informed participants about ongoing work to align a package of judicial laws with the comments contained in the preliminary opinion of the Venice Commission. Thereafter, Vujić and Odalović reported on progress in meeting the interim benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24, noting that several key legislative acts, including the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on Internal Affairs and other regulations, are currently under review by the European Commission, and that further alignment will continue upon receipt of its comments. Among other issues, Nemanja Starović, Minister of European Integration, reported on the implementation of the Reform Agenda and the upcoming meetings related to this process. Marko Jovanović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, presented the progress achieved in meeting the benchmarks for the opening of Cluster 2 (Internal Market), with particular emphasis on legislative activities within Chapter 8 (Competition Policy), including the Law on State Aid, the draft of which is currently under consideration by the European Commission. Marko Obradović, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, informed the Operational Team of activities within Cluster 5 (Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion), with particular focus on meeting the benchmarks for the opening of Chapter 12 (Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy). The participants also discussed certain issues relating to the Dialogue with Pristina, as well as horizontal issues arising within the framework of Serbia’s European integration process.
