Among the member states of the European Union, today there was again no agreement to open negotiations with Serbia in cluster 3, which includes eight chapters, according to diplomatic sources.
Today, the Hungarian presidency again put the issue of opening cluster 3 - competitiveness and inclusive growth - on the agenda of the meeting of the ambassadors of the member states. That cluster includes eight chapters: digital transformation and media; taxation; economic and monetary policy; social policy and employment, entrepreneurship and industrial policy; science and research; education and culture; customs union.
Of those eight chapters, Serbia had already opened five of them before the change in the negotiation methodology. The new methodology was adopted at the beginning of 2020 and foresees that instead of individual chapters, more will be opened that are connected in six clusters, six thematic units.
"There is no progress, we are staying where we were last week," one diplomatic source told Hina.
Last week, eight countries, among them Croatia, had objections to the Hungarian presidency's proposal to open that cluster. The main reasons for this are Serbia's refusal to introduce sanctions against Russia and align with the EU's foreign policy, the rule of law, and the state of the media.
Before last week's meeting, Serbia distributed to the member states an unofficial document with a list of steps it intends to take in order to obtain approval for the opening of that cluster. Several countries have said that no progress can be made on the promises made in that document.
The Hungarian presidency, which is pushing Serbia hard, announces that it will try again next week to get approval for the opening of that cluster.
In its progress report, the European Commission assessed that Serbia is technically ready for the opening of that cluster, but for that to actually happen, the consent of all member states is needed.
Negotiations with Serbia have practically been frozen since December 2021, when it opened the last chapters.
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