Brussels, 13/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - Examination of the judiciary and fundamental rights chapter in the accession negotiations with Serbia will begin on 25-26 September, Peter Stano, the spokesperson for Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle, confirmed to EUROPE on 12 September.
A week ago, the Serbian chief negotiator for the accession negotiations to the European Union, Tanja Miscevic, announced that the screening of this chapter and of the liberty, justice and security chapter would begin on this date.
Stano stated that the draft negotiating framework, presented by the European Commission in July, was currently being debated by the member states. They are due to approve it at the end of autumn. “Serbia will also have to prepare its own negotiating position ahead of the intergovernmental conference that will take place in January 2014 at the very latest”, he added. This deadline was set word for word by the European Council in June (see EUROPE 10877).
Following the agreements on energy and telecommunications with Kosovo on 8 September (see EUROPE 10917), Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said that “Serbia (had) fulfilled all its obligations” and that “nothing (could) prevent the accession negotiations with the EU being started in January or even earlier”. (CG/transl.fl)