McAllister: Germany not hindering Serbia on its EU path

BRUSSELS - European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister stated on Wednesday that Germany is not hindering Serbia on its European integration path but it still insists on respect of fundamental enlargement process principles.

As a member of the European Parliament (EP), I cannot speak on behalf of the German government but I am familiar with the stand of Chancellor Angela Merkel who has recognised the importance of Serbia for the European perspective of the Western Balkans and reiterated on several occasions that she wishes the entire region to be integrated into the EU, McAllister said addressing an international conference on Serbia which is taking place at the Goethe Institute in Brussels.

The fundamental principles are embodied in the judiciary reform, public administration reform and structural reforms of the economy, McAllister said and added that he expects the first chapters in the accession talks to open soon.

He recalled that the German parliament adopted a resolution in 2014 which calls for opening Chapter 35 on the process of normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina relations as one of the first chapters in the accession talks.

This does not mean that the chapter has to open first, it just means that it needs to be one of the first chapters to open in the talks, McAllister explained.

He underscored that a new round of the high-level Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, scheduled for February 9, would bear key importance for the timing of chapter opening.

The rapporteur said that he knows great expectations should not be nurtured because new delegation heads would meet for the first time on this occasion, but he expressed the hope that a significant progress in this round could accelerate the opening...