The Lithuanian Foreign Minister congratulated T.Miščević on her appointment as Serbia’s Chief Negotiator for the accession of Serbia to the EU. L.Linkevičius noted that during the period of the Lithuanian EU Presidency he would seek to ensure an appropriate preparation for Serbia’s accession negotiations.
“One of the key tasks of the Lithuanian EU Presidency in the field of EU enlargement is to approve a mandate to start negotiations with Serbia,” L.Linkevičius said.
Serbia’s Chief Negotiator briefed the Minister about the on-going preparations to start accession negotiations with the EU. T.Miščević noted that negotiating teams were currently being formed in preparation to review negotiating chapters. According to the Chief Negotiator, the results of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and progress regarding the reform of the judiciary and the fight against corruption, as well as other priority areas, were sufficient to start accession negotiations with the EU. It is expected that the negotiations will be launched by the end of 2013.
The Lithuanian Foreign Minister welcomed the results of the round of the Belgrade-Pristina negotiations on 8 September 2013, such as the conclusion of agreements on energy and telecommunications, and stressed that it was necessary to ensure further implementation of the agreements and priority reforms. According to L.Linkevičiaus, the results that have been achieved so far allow raise hope that both Serbia and Kosovo would continue to successfully implement the agreements. A positive assessment of the progress in December is essential for Serbia in order to start accession negotiations with the EU in the near future.
In Vilnius, Serbia’s Chief Negotiator took part in the informal meeting of the Council Working Group on Enlargement. The visit of T.Miščević to Vilnius also included meetings with the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Vytautas Leškevičius, Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality Virginija Langbakk, and Chief Negotiators of Turkey and Montenegro.
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