The Council of Ministers of the European Union has concluded that the conditions have not been met to open a new chapter in membership negotiations with Serbia, and for this to happen, it is necessary to make progress in matters of democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression and the media, the German minister said today in Brussels. for Europe Michael Roth.
He said this at the end of the two-day session of EU diplomats and thus answered the journalist's question as to what prevented the opening of at least one chapter in the negotiations with Belgrade.
Roth emphasized that "opening the chapter of negotiations on membership with the EU is not a generous gift from Brussels and it does not depend on Berlin, but on the progress achieved, and it is also necessary that the proposal of the European Commission be adopted unanimously by all members, so that a new chapter can be opened".
"The Council of Ministers concluded that the conditions are not sufficiently met to open a new chapter" in the negotiations with Serbia, the German Minister for Europe stated.
"If in the discussions," Roth explained, "it is established that sufficient progress has been made in the key issues of media pluralism, democracy, political pluralism, freedom of expression, reconciliation in the region, and the independence of the judiciary, it would not be very difficult to go further and open negotiations chapters".
"But it does not depend on us, it is not in our hands, it of course depends on the candidate countries for membership," concluded the German Minister for European Affairs.
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