The report on the state of the rule of law and progress in chapters 23 and 24, which the European Commission regularly delivers to member states, will be decisive for the decision on the number of chapters that Serbia will open in December, according to sources familiar with the process of negotiations on Serbia's membership in the EU.
Overall, Serbia has made some progress in legislative and institutional reforms in several areas, including the issue of national minorities, asylum policy and money laundering.
"At the same time, there are major delays in the implementation of measures, and concrete, tangible results are still difficult to demonstrate in the judiciary, the prosecution of war crimes, media freedoms and the fight against corruption," says the European Commission's report.
The report states that constitutional changes aimed at strengthening the independence of the judiciary are still ongoing and that the Venice Commission considers that the proposed amendments follow its recommendations from June 2018. The European Commission emphasizes that in addition to the constitutional changes, the laws on their implementation are also important and announces that it will closely monitor this process.
The report states that one of the concrete results is the reduction of the number of long trials and the preparation of a new information court system.
When it comes to the fight against corruption, the report of the European Commission states that the revision of the law on the Agency for the fight against corruption and on the financing of political activities is facing a serious delay.
European Commission
The European Commission estimates that a significant number of laws have been adopted within Chapter 24: laws on preventing money laundering, terrorist financing, asylum and state borders, as well as that structural reforms in the Ministry of the Interior have been completed.
"Strengthened efforts in the area of financial investigations, money laundering and asset confiscation should lead to better results in the fight against organized crime," the report states.
This report, which is submitted twice a year by the European Commission, will serve as a basis for member countries to make a political assessment of the number of open chapters in December.
Currently, five chapters are in the procedure in working bodiesof the European Council, and Belgrade expects that at least three will be opened before the end of the year: chapter 17 on economic and monetary policy, 18 on statistics and chapter 9 on financial services.
Independent, impartial, professional, efficient and accountable judiciary.
Mission
Create the prerequisites for the development of professionalism in holders of judiciary office by establishing clear, measurable and objective criteria for the election and career advancement and their training and professional development, in line with core values and principles the judiciary system is founded on.
Goal
Develop and conduct training programmes for holders of judiciary offices and other staff in the judiciary system, aimed at acquiring new knowledge and its promotion, development of special abilities and skills, to contribute to strengthening of professional and accountable judiciary system.
