April 17 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said on Tuesday that despite remaining engaged in a dialogue with Kosovo, Serbia needs to make further efforts regarding the full normalisation of relations with its southern neighbour.
"Serbia overall remained constructively committed to bilateral relations with other enlargement countries and neighbouring EU Member States and an active participant in regional cooperation," the Commission said in its 2018 report on Serbia accompanying its annual enlargement package adopted on Tuesday.
Regarding other political criteria, Serbia has made some progress concerning the reform of its judicial system but the scope for political influence over the judiciary remains a concern, the Commission noted.
Corruption remains prevalent in many areas and continues to be a serious problem in Serbia. There is a serious delay in adopting the new law on the anti‑corruption agency, according to the report. Also, Serbia has yet to establish an initial track record of effective financial investigations, as well as of investigations, prosecutions and final convictions in money laundering cases.
The country also needs to fully address the concerns of international observers that during Serbia's presidential election in April last year the playing field was tilted by several factors.
Regarding the country's economy, Serbia has made some progress in terms of increasing competitiveness but the level of investment activity is still below the economy's needs. Despite some improvements, companies face a number of challenges, including an unpredictable business environment, a high level of para‑fiscal charges, and difficult and costly access to finance, the Commission said.
Last year, Serbia continued to align its legislation with the EU acquis, and now has a good level of preparation in areas such as company law, intellectual property, science and research, education and culture, and customs.
Serbia needs to progressively align its foreign and security policy with the European Union's common foreign and security policy in the period up to accession, the Commission stated. The country also needs to address, as a matter of priority, issues of non-compliance with the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, regarding in particular restrictions on capital movements, state aid regulation, fiscal discrimination on imported spirits and restrictions on waste exports, the report reads.
The EU opened accession negotiations with Serbia in January 2014. The country has started talks on 10 out of 35 chapters of EU law and has provisionally closed negotiations on two.