Hahn says Serbia's condition towards EU

The European Union has opened new chapters of membership talks for Montenegro and Serbia, those for which European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker says he expects to join the bloc by 2025.

The membership negotiations, usually lasting for years, are divided into 35 “captive”, which include areas such as economy, energy, rule of law and human rights, to help the aspiring state for membership harmonise its practices with EU standards.

At a media conference, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn has said opening these chapters for Serbia is a well-deserved achievement for the country.
But he warned that further Serbian state progress is conditional on Kosovo.

The previous procedure is conditional on [Serbia's] focus on rule of law and normalisation [of reports] with Kosovo”, said Hahn, broadcast Koha.net.
He stressed that good work has been done in relation to Kosovo and the rule of the law, but “also has challenges”.

The EU has opened two new chapters for Montenegro, which include freedom of movement for workers and services. That means Montenegro now has 30 more chapters to open.
From the region, Albania and Macedonia are candidates for EU membership.