Although eight EU member states did not support the opening of Cluster 3 in negotiations with Serbia during Wednesday’s meeting, the situation is expected to change in the next five days before the final decision, according to sources speaking to Kurir. They emphasise that the EU’s most powerful country, Germany, has already given the green light.
As Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated, the countries opposing the opening of Cluster 3 were the three Baltic states, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Bulgaria. Vučić highlighted that there is no doubt Hungary will call a new meeting for next week.
The next debate on opening the cluster could take place as early as 11 December, while the intergovernmental conference, at which the cluster might be opened, is expected to occur in the week between 16 and 20 December. Cluster 3 comprises eight chapters, five of which were previously opened before the introduction of the new methodology that grouped chapters into clusters.
Former Serbian ambassador to Germany Milovan Božinović told Kurir he expects the next decision to be positive.
“It’s nothing new that, in the early stages of a decision-making process within the Union—where decisions are never made hastily—various countries, for whatever reason, set their conditions, obstacles, and so on. However, in reality, the major EU members review everything and can pressure others to drop their objections if it serves their interests to open these chapters. It’s not unusual for these ‘troublesome’ members to face some pressure. Our advantage lies in the solid performance of our foreign policy in recent years and the fact that we have good relations with France, Germany, and Italy. This might now work in our favour,” Božinović said.
Former UN ambassador Banko Branković also believes that Germany, France, and other stronger EU countries will exert pressure to ensure Cluster 3 is opened.
“New crisis hotspots are emerging, likely to complicate the start of Trump’s new term. In such a scenario, the question arises whether Germany, France, and other European powers will allow themselves to be placed in a politically disadvantageous position by those who voted against. This is why I am convinced that the major European powers will neutralise American pressure on these opposing countries to demonstrate that they are serious powers and not subservient to American policies,” Branković concluded.
(Kurir, 06.12.2024)
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Publish date : 2024-12-06 01:43:00
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