The opening of two essential chapters in the negotiations with the EU, which are the competencies of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, will have a positive impact on investments and further development of projects connecting Serbia with the EU, Minister Tomislav Momirovic said today.
Within Cluster 4 Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity, four negotiating chapters were opened yesterday – Chapter 14 – Transport Policy, Chapter 15 – Energy, Chapter 21 – Trans-European Networks and Chapter 27 – Environment.
“In Chapter 14, we opened the market, we harmonized our legislation with the EU, in order to enable reforms in public companies operating in the field of transport. The quality of the transport service will improve, prices will be reduced, as well as the waiting time at the borders,” Momirovic said.
He added that within the framework of Chapter 21, investments in infrastructure are aimed at better traffic integration of Serbia with neighboring countries, including EU member states.
“Huge projects for the construction of highways and expressways, the renewal of the railway infrastructure, the reconstruction of the port and the construction of the airport have been completed or started,” said Momirović.
As he pointed out, two infrastructure projects that are important for Chapter 21, and which are being implemented with EU donations, are the construction of the Nis-Plocnik highway and the modernization and electrification of the Nis-Dimitrovgrad railway section.
According to the Minister, Serbia has achieved a high level of harmonization with the acquis communautaire in the field of railway transport, while in the field of inland waterway transport “it continues to increase its level of harmonization, which is already high.”
“When it comes to aviation regulations, Serbia is close to fulfilling all obligations envisaged in the first transitional period of the Agreement on the Establishment of a Common European Aviation Area. The EU has recognized and assessed that Serbia is well managing the procedures for crossing the border during the difficult period of the crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure said in a statement, Danas reports.
