EU Members Fail to Reach Agreement on Opening Cluster 3 in Serbian Accession Talks

Josep Borrell, Marko Djuric, Brussels, July 17 2024 (BETAPHOTO/European Council/Alexandros Michailidis)

European Union member country representatives were unable to reach agreement on Nov. 25 about opening Cluster 3 in accession negotiations with Serbia, but the discussion will continue, the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation reported citing diplomatic sources in Brussels.

At an ambassador-level meeting, multiple EU member representatives would not accept a proposal by Hungary, which is currently chairing the EU, to launch the procedure of opening Cluster 3 in the negotiations on Serbia's accession to the 27-nation bloc, the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Those countries include the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Croatia, while a considerable number of nations also indicated that the situation merits another assessment before the final decision is made, diplomatic sources reported.

The main arguments against opening Cluster 3 were Serbia's lack of alignment with EU foreign policy and sanctions against Russia, issues with the rule of law and in relations with Pristina.

After a lengthy discussion, the necessary consensus was not reached today, but the matter remains on the agenda of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), said the representative of the Hungarian chairmanship of the EU.