EU members to once again discuss opening of Cluster 3 in negotiations with Serbia

EU member states should discuss the opening of Cluster 3 in the accession negotiations with Serbia again on Friday, December 13, at the meeting of the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States (Coreper II), according to the agenda of this meeting.

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New discussions on this issue have been scheduled after EU member states' ambassadors failed to agree last week on the opening of Cluster 3, which refers to competitiveness and inclusive growth, as eight countries opposed that.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic later said that three Baltic states, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Bulgaria were those countries.

Among those that support the opening of the cluster is Hungary, which currently holds the EU presidency.

In the report about Serbia, published as part of the 2024 Enlargement Package, the European Commission stated that Cluster 3 is technically ready for opening and pointed out that the overall pace of negotiations will continue to depend on rule of law reforms, and normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Cluster 3 includes eight chapters, related to information society and media, taxation, economic and monetary policy, social policy and employment, entrepreneurship and industrial policy, science and research, education and culture and customs union.

The last time Serbia opened a negotiation chapter with the EU was in December 2021.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)