Starovic for Newsmax Balkans: No talk of freezing EU funds for Serbia

Starovic said that European Commission spokesperson, Markus Lammert, clearly stated there is no talk of freezing financial assistance for Serbia and that the matter has been fully clarified.

"This means the funds will not be frozen or blocked, but there is a standard process of ongoing assessment that applies to Serbia, as well as to other beneficiaries of the European Union’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans", Starovic explained.

The minister noted that he could not specify an exact approval date, but that past experience provides a useful reference.

As he explained, both in Serbia and in other beneficiaries of the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, it typically takes between three and ten months from the submission of a tranche payment request until it is fully approved.

"The decision on the disbursement of financial tranches involves two parallel processes: verification of completed steps and a continuous assessment of political criteria", he added.

Starovic reiterated that the period from submitting a payment request to final approval usually ranges from three to ten months.

"I have no doubt that this will happen within a realistic and reasonable timeframe", he said.

Status of tranche requests

The minister clarified the status of requests and implemented measures, noting that initial reports claimed only three out of a total of 98 measures had been verified, but correcting this by explaining that those three steps were, in fact, confirmed through the disbursement of the first tranche.

"Serbia submitted a request for the second tranche in July last year, for the third tranche in January this year, and is preparing a request for the fourth tranche, which will likely be submitted in July", Starovic emphasized.

He added that final confirmation depends on the European Commission’s review process, which will compare domestic claims with the Commission’s criteria.

Judicial legislation

Regarding the package of judicial laws, Starovic explained that its entry into parliamentary procedure triggered negative reactions from Brussels.

"The National Assembly and its members have the sovereign right to legislative initiative, but the package did not succeed in the consultation process with the European Commission. The Government had already announced consultations with the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and committed to fully respecting its recommendations", the minister said.

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Starovic noted that recommendations from the Venice Commission’s expert team were received on April 24, and that drafting of amendments began immediately. The state has committed to implementing the recommendations "to the letter" by the end of May.

In his view, the Venice Commission’s recommendations do not imply a return to the previous situation, but rather further progress and improvement of the legislative package.

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