Croatia unblocks opening of Chapter 26 in Serbia’s negotiations with EU

(Illustration) Croatia has unblocked the opening of chapter 26 – Education and Culture, in Serbia’s accession negotiations with the European Union, reported Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Davor Ivo Stier on Friday, December 23.

Stier said at the press conference that the unblocking had occurred because the conditions had been met for it.

– Conditions have been met for us to be able to withdraw our reservations regarding chapter 26, and I wish to say that we will monitor the fulfillment of all requirements regarding national minorities within chapter 23, with the emphasis on the Croatian national minority – Stier said.

Croatia’s decision to unblock chapter 26 occurred following the signing of an agreement in Belgrade, i.e. an annex signed by the Serbian Minister of Education with representative of the Croatian national minority, regulating the issue of the translation of textbooks, not just the translation from Serbian to Croatian, but also the special additions and content for the Croatian national minority.

As the Croatian media report, the signing was attended by the ambassadors of Croatia, the EU and Bulgaria to Belgrade.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that he was grateful to Croatia for unblocking chapter 26.

– It seems that we have made considerable progress in the past seven days and I am grateful to them for recognizing our dramatic improvement. I thank them for unblocking the chapters and I am very grateful to our neighbors – Vucic said.

He added that he believed it was a good move and that it would contribute to the improvement of the relations between Serbia and Croatia.

Chapter 26

negotiations of Serbia with EU

accession negotiations of Serbia and EW

accession to the European Union

chapter 23

national minority rights

national minorities

Davor Ivo Stier

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Croatia

Croatian national minority in Serbia

blocking of chapter 26

deblocking of chapter 26