EU to ask EC to assess Serbia’s accession application

The EU General Affairs Council is likely to verify Serbia’s EU membership application and ask the European Commission (EC) to begin its assessment in October, Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere said after an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (September 13th). The issue will probably be placed on the agenda of the October 25th foreign ministers’ meeting. Vanackere, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, added that Serbia’s EU bid is being accelerated to reward the country for dropping its hard-line resolution on Kosovo at the UN General Assembly and drafting a new one with EU assistance. Vanackere also pledged to convince The Netherlands, a holdout, to support the decision to advance Serbia’s membership bid.