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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

European Commission notes Serbia’s progress in many areas

Belgrade, 30 October 2024

Prime Minister Miloš Vučević said today that the European Commission Report for Serbia for the year 2024 notes the progress of our country in numerous areas, primarily in the economic sphere.

Vučević stated at the press conference that Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia Emanuele Giaufret, handed him the report and that he gave him certain oral clarifications and remarks on key issues.

He pointed out that the government will now analyse this document in detail and will certainly inform the Serbian public about it.

The Prime Minister pointed out that this is an important report for Serbia, because it represents an essential road map for our European integration and an analysis of our country’s annual progress, as well as an assessment of the level of readiness for EU membership.

The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction with Serbia’s progress in the field of economy – macroeconomic security and stability and fiscal discipline.

He stated that he is satisfied with the noted progress in terms of the Green Agenda, that is, ecology and climate change, noting that there is still a lot of work to be done in that area.

We have made progress in the areas of justice, freedom, security, statistics, taxation, and the trans-European network, but we certainly need to do more. Of course, we are waiting for talks on the most sensitive set of issues, which is alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy, the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the analysis on this issue is usually simplified and it is only emphasised whether Serbia has complied with some statements and declarations, while forgetting that our country has shown in many concrete fields that membership in the EU is our strategic commitment and that remains our main goal and main policy.

He said that it is necessary for Serbia to be more efficient in some fields, first of all, when it comes to Cluster 2, which concerns internal trade, and Cluster 5, which refers to agriculture.

Serbia was with the government in a technical mandate for almost half of this year, the Prime Minister reminded and added that this government, which was elected in May, essentially assumed responsibility for Serbia’s further European path.

Vučević mentioned that some good things were done in that period, not only in terms of the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Serbia and the EU regarding mineral resources and cooperation in the field of energy, but also ecology, but the Government also adopted the Reform Agenda at the beginning of this month, i.e., our plan related to the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which was confirmed by Brussels.

Giaufret stated that the European Commission’s 2024 Progress Report on Serbia shows that Serbia has met the criteria for opening Cluster 3, and that further progress will continue to be determined by progress in the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Priština.

According to him, the Commission confirmed its assessment from previous years that Serbia met the criteria for opening Cluster 3 on competition and inclusive growth, and that now it is up to the member states to decide whether overall progress has been made for opening this cluster.

He pointed out that the Report is part of the package presented today in Brussels for candidates and potential candidates for EU membership.

The Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia noted that there is currently a real momentum for EU enlargement and that in the previous year the Union made important steps towards the integration of new members, stressing that enlargement will remain a priority for the new European Commission, which will soon take office.

He also said that progressive alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy is part of the negotiation framework, as well as that the Union wants Serbia to be part of its family.

Photos by: Slobodan Miljević