Serbia takes big step forward in EU membership talks

BRUSSELS — Serbia connected Tuesday took a important measurement guardant successful its quest to articulation the European Union by opening talks connected a bid of policies linked to the environment, but Belgrade was warned that advancement connected its European way inactive depends connected normalizing relations with its erstwhile territory, Kosovo.

Countries wanting to articulation the 27-country EU indispensable bring their laws and regulations into enactment with the bloc’s standards. That’s achieved by negotiations successful 35 argumentation areas, oregon chapters, ranging from things similar the escaped question of worker, to taxation, oregon cultivation and economical policy.

On Tuesday, Serbia was permitted to unfastened talks connected clime alteration and environment, energy, transport argumentation and trans-European infrastructure networks. Belgrade has present opened 22 negotiating chapters since its rank talks began successful 2014. It’s the archetypal clip Serbia has opened 4 chapters astatine once.

Serbian Prime Minster Ana Brnabic told reporters successful Brussels that the determination marks “a precise important milestone for our European integration process.”

EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi agreed that “Serbia is taking different precise important measurement guardant successful joining the European Union.”

But Varhelyi said that “Serbia’s advancement connected the regularisation of instrumentality and the normalization of relations with Kosovo remains indispensable for the wide gait of accession negotiations,” and helium warned that it is “crucial that Serbia continues to present results connected the ground.”

Serbia, supported by its allies Russia and China, refuses to admit the statehood of its erstwhile province, which unilaterally broke distant and declared independency successful 2008. Kosovo is recognized by the United States and astir of the West, though 5 EU countries bash not.

EU-brokered talks betwixt the 2 are bogged down. In September, Kosovo’s authorities deployed peculiar constabulary forces to borderline crossings to enforce a caller regularisation of removing Serb licence plates from cars coming into the country, until a woody was reached to easiness tensions.