Parliament's rapporteur David McAllister answers questions from the civil society on some of the main topics of the 2015 report on Serbia's progress towards EU accession.

Serbia in 2015 - Kosovo, migration and economic reforms

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/19108963/n004-0039-en.srt

But the road to membership  is not an easy one.

And both EU and Serbian citizens  have questions and worries.

David McAllister, as member  of the Foreign Affairs Committee

and author of the 2015 report on the  ongoing accession talks, answers them.

Serbia appears to be  well on the road to EU accession.

They've been bringing forward  their infrastructure projects

to meet EU standards, particularly  in the water and waste water sector.

Are there any plans to increase  the investment from the EU

to accelerate environmental projects  in common areas

such as cleaning up the Danube  and Sava rivers?

Serbia can only join the European Union  when it fulfills all the criteria.

Of course, the infrastructure  and the environmental conditions

have to be improved in Serbia.  The government is working on these issues.

And the government is  getting support from the EU.

And I'm pretty convinced that  Serbia will be able to fulfill

all the demands we Europeans have  once the country is ready.

Should EU countries readmit  third country nationals to Serbia

and countries of  the Western Balkan region?

What do you think, is that  part of the solution in your opinion?

Should Serbia take care of the people  that the EU did not want?

We have to make a difference between  countries of origin, with all their problems,

the neighbouring countries who are dealing  with this huge influx of refugees,

and finally the countries of destination.

enter the European Union,  enter the Schengen Area,

then leave the Schengen Area and the EU  while walking through Macedonia, Serbia,

and then re-enter the EU in Croatia  and the Schengen Area in Slovenia.

So what we have to do is, we have to  make these decisions in Greece.

That's why we definitely  need these hotspots.

We need a decent registration,  and after the registration has happened,

we then need a system  for distributing the people

to all the Member States who are  willing to co-operate on this question.

Would the signing of the agreement  on the normalisation of relations

mean Serbia’s actual recognition  of Kosovo's independence?

Does that agreement mean  that Serbia is recognising Kosovo?

It's not about officially recognising Kosovo.

23 Member States of the EU  have officially recognised Kosovo,

but we have five Member States  who haven't recognised Kosovo.

So we're not expecting this from Belgrade.

What we're expecting is, in the end,  that this process will gradually lead

to a comprehensive normalisation of  relations between Serbia and Kosovo

by the end of Serbia's  accession negotiations,

with the prospect of both countries  being able to fully exercise their rights

and also both countries being fully able  to fulfill their responsibilities.