Brussels: Serbia Blocked, Ankara and Podgorica Open New Chapters

The European Union has opened a new chapter in membership negotiations with Ankara, while the opening of Chapter 23 with Serbia has been postponed due to a lack of consensus at today's meeting of the Council of the EU Working Party on the Western Balkans, sources from the Council of the EU informed journalists, reports Patria.

The new chapter in negotiations with Turkey was opened as part of the agreement to prevent illegal immigration. This is the 16th chapter opened and concerns budgetary and financial provisions.

The opening of the key Chapter 23 on the rule of law in the EU's negotiations with Serbia has been postponed, possibly until July or September, primarily due to Croatia's resistance. Croatia demands that Serbia withdraw the regional jurisdiction of its war crimes court, ensure automatic seats for the Croatian minority in the Serbian parliament, and fully cooperate with the Hague Tribunal, which, according to official Zagreb, is currently insufficient.

All other EU member states believe that Serbia has fulfilled all conditions for opening Chapters 23 and 24, which cover the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. However, Great Britain has not yet conveyed its position for determining the EU's common negotiating position due to "technical reasons," as a caretaker government is currently in office after the independence referendum in Britain.

The outgoing Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković stated in Brussels on Tuesday that Croatia's stance on the opening of EU negotiations with Serbia in Chapter 23 has not changed, claiming that what Croatia is asking for is also requested by other EU member states.

Orešković specified that these are three conditions relating to jurisdiction for war crimes trials, the issue of minority protection, and cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.

Officials in Brussels had previously stated that the fact that the government in Croatia has fallen is also a problem for other EU partners, raising questions about the stance of the future Croatian government on all these matters. The recent "thaw" in relations between the Serbian Prime Minister and the Croatian President is also being considered, but this has not yet affected Croatia's demands and conditions for opening chapters with Serbia. In addition to earlier demands regarding minority issues and particularly the challenge to the regional jurisdiction of the Serbian war crimes court, Croatian representatives in the EU are now also raising the issue of compensation for victims of the wars in the 1990s, claiming that Serbia is responsible for it.

Montenegro is opening negotiations in Chapters 12 - Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control and 13 - Fisheries at the Intergovernmental Conference taking place in Brussels today, reports RTCG.

Chapter 12 covers regulations, standards, and measures related to the entire production chain under adequate supervision of the competent authority, from food processing and distribution to the consumer, while Chapter 13 is regulated by the common fisheries policy of the European Union and covers issues of exploitation and management of fish resources, monitoring and control policy, as well as international cooperation in fisheries, according to RTCG.