On behalf of the European Commission Commissioner Janez Lenarcic told the European Parliament (EP) that the European Union (EU) expects the Serbian authorities to make tangible progress in the rule of law and dialogue with Pristina, Beta reported.

These two things will determine the speed of negotiations on Serbia’s membership with the EU, said Lenarcic, adding that progress in reforms can lead to the opening of new chapters in negotiations.

Addressing a European Parliament debate on the resolution on Serbia Lenarcic said that Serbia needs to continue its reform process so as to ensure the judiciary’s independence, to fight corruption and organized crime, to guarantee media freedoms and to continue war crimes court proceedings.

The resolution, to be voted on by MEPs on Wednesday, calls for the “mutual recognition” of Belgrade and Pristina, which has been disputed by some MEPs.

EP Rapporteur for Serbia Vladimir Bilcik, who is from Slovakia which does not recognize Kosovo, said in the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) June discussion that we was not satisfied that the wording on the mutual recognition of Belgrade and Pristina was included in the text.

Explaining that the issue of Kosovo’s recognition is not in the hands of the European Parliament, Bilcik said that a decision on this matter is the sole right of EU member states and that, at this time, he sees no progress towards possible recognition.