A meeting of the Operational Team for the Republic of Serbia’s European Union accession process was held today at the premises of the National Assembly.
The Head of this Team and Chief Negotiator, Ambassador Danijel Apostolović, welcomed the fact that our administration continued to work intensively throughout July and August. He noted that the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia discussed numerous regulations in the field of our country’s European integration and adopted, among others, the Law on Financing Political Activities, the Law on the Constitutional Court, the Law on Weapons and Ammunition, and the Law on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control. The Government adopted important documents that also represent obligations from last year’s report by the European Commission, such as the Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for the period 2026-2034, the Environmental Protection Strategy – Green Agenda for the Republic of Serbia for the period until 2033, and considered and defined a large number of draft laws important for fulfilling obligations from the processes, which it forwarded to the National Assembly, such as, among others, draft laws in the field of justice and finance.
Apostolović reiterated that it is necessary to be even more consistent and active in fulfilling the obligations arising from the process of accession to the European Union, because they are implemented, above all, for the benefit of our citizens. Therefore, he once again emphasised that he expects responsibility from all actors participating in this process. He asked the Team members for specific information on short-term plans for implementing all the necessary activities related to Serbia’s European path, which are realistically possible to achieve before the upcoming elections. He emphasised that it is important for the Government, even during its technical mandate, to continue with preparing all the necessary regulations, so that soon after the constitution of the new National Assembly and the establishment of regular work of the Government, we would have documents already prepared for adoption.
The Chief Negotiator emphasised that joint meetings with all negotiating groups, bilateral meetings with individual institutions, as well as meetings with the European Commission, will be intensified from September, because we must anticipate all possible challenges in the European integration process of Serbia and discuss them in a timely manner, so as to avoid further delays. He emphasised that we must demonstrate that we are a credible partner of the European Union, capable of consistently implementing our obligations under this process.
As regards the upcoming Annual Report of the European Commission, he reiterated that the implementation of the recommendations will commence immediately upon its publication. He said that he is ready, if the need arises, to even consider the possible introduction of a software solution that will enable very precise monitoring of indicators of the achievement of set goals in fulfilling recommendations.
Apostolović concluded that we have the strongest administrative capacities in the region, and that it is high time to demonstrate this through concrete progress in accession negotiations, to the extent that it depends solely on our part. In addition, Apostolović recalled that we had activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to combat the wildfires in Deliblato Sands, and expressed gratitude to the EU for the assistance provided.
In the continuation of the meeting, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ana Brnabić, presented the intensive work of this institution, reporting on the activities to prepare for the consideration of a large number of draft laws that had been submitted by the Government during July and August. In this regard, she recalled that the tenth extraordinary session of the National Assembly is set to commence today. Afterwards, Minister Vujić informed those present about numerous activities in the field of Chapter 23, while Minister Starović spoke about the implementation of the Reform Agenda. Regarding Chapter 24, the Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Veljko Odalović, presented significant steps in this area and plans for the upcoming period. The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petković, reported on the numerous problems we face in Kosovo and Metohija, emphasising the lack of an appropriate response from the EU in this regard. Marko Jovanović, State Secretary, spoke about the intensive legislative activities of the Ministry of Finance, while Assistant Minister Milica Nedjić presented the activities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.
In addition to the aforementioned representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Serbia, the meeting was also attended by Petar Janjić, the Secretary General of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Tijana Vasilijević, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Serbia, Nemanja Diković, Adviser to the Prime Minister and Ljiljana Jevtović, Deputy Chief Negotiator, as well as other deputy members of the Operational Team.
It was announced that the next regular meeting of the Operational Team will be held in the form of a video conference on 31 August 2026.
