Constituent session of Working Group for Chapter 23 held

The constituent session of the Working Group for Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights was held today. Minister of the Interior Sergej Sekulović and Chief Negotiator Zorka Kordić attended the session.

The session discussed the negotiation process with the EU, with reference to the application of the New Methodology and the recent Intergovernmental Conference.

Minister Sekulović said that this is a question of our future and that the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights are fully committed to Chapters 23 and 24.

Chief Negotiator Zorka Kordić stressed the need for synergy between Chapters 23 and 24, as some tasks are complementary to each other and involve the engagement of all of us.

She said that the Working Group for Chapter 23 should also serve for a broader consultation when it comes to all strategic documents and all regulations related to this matter. It should be a platform for exchanging views, adding that this is not a government project but a project of the whole society.

She pointed out that the Office for European Integration has prepared a document on assessing the provisional benchmarks that it can use as a tool for focusing further work, stressing that it is important to show the proactive approach and more intensive engagement in the coming period.

The Chief Negotiator said that it was important to use the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union to show that tasks are being done, as well as to reach an agreement with the European Commission on priority matters.

Head of the Working Group Bojan Božović presented priority activities aimed at meeting provisional benchmarks in the negotiating chapter 23.