The 2016 Report on Serbia presented to the European Parliament

European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, responsible for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, presented the European Commission’s 2016 Report on Serbia to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. Andor Deli, a Hungarian MEP from the Vojvodina region of northern Serbia, expressed his delight that the report spoke positively about Serbian developments and pushed for the rapid implementation of the Minority Action Plan.

Commissioner Hahn emphasized that Serbia had made significant progress toward economic stability through public administration reforms, all the while continuing to perform an important role in fostering cooperation between the Balkan countries. At the same time, Hahn noted that the dialogue with Pristina has to advance in parallel with EU integration and that Serbian foreign policy should be synchronized with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.

“I was pleased to learn that to a large extent this year’s report contains positive conclusions in regard to Serbia,” said EPP MEP Andor Deli following the session. “The report urges swift implementation of the obligations related to accession negotiations in chapters 23 and 24, and as we know, the exceptionally important Minority Action Plan is tied to chapter 23. During the October Strasbourg session of the Minority Intergroup, we heard from the responsible minister that the Serbian government had prioritized these chapters. This is why I believe that we will soon see concrete achievements, which are certain to bring about significant improvements concerning the situation of Vojvodina and the minorities.”