On Tuesday 20 June, Serbia opened Chapter 7 on intellectual property and Chapter 29 on the customs union. The country has now opened ten chapters since the start of its EU accession negotiations in January 2014, and has provisionally closed two.
"I think in four or five years' time we will be able to negotiate our accession", Serbia's minister without portfolio who is responsible for European integration, Jadranka Joksimović, stated at the end of the accession conference in Luxembourg. She hoped that other chapters might be opened by the end of the year.
Malta's minister Helena Dalli spoke on behalf of the Presidency of the EU Council and congratulated Seriba on "all the progress made in the accession process". Like the director general at the European Commission's DG Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Christian Danielsson, Dalli nevertheless called for efforts to be strengthened on the rule of law and on the normalisation of relations with Kosovo. She added that the reforms on administration were essential for joining the EU in the long term. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)